Today in one sentence: Judge Aileen Cannon rejected convicted felon Trump’s claim that the FBI misled the court in order to obtain a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago; the Supreme Court struck down part of a federal anti-corruption law and ruled that state officials may accept “gratuities” from people who wish to reward them for their official actions; the Supreme Court stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of its main tool for enforcing rules against securities fraud; and the Supreme Court limited the EPA’s ability to regulate air quality.

1/ Judge Aileen Cannon rejected convicted felon Trump’s claim that the FBI misled the court in order to obtain a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago related to his mishandling of national security secrets. In an 11-page ruling, Cannon said Trump’s argument that the FBI misrepresented facts to a federal judge in order to secure the search warrant were meritless. FBI agents found 103 classified documents, which eventually led to Trump’s indictment, after searching Mar-a-Lago in 2022. Cannon, however, agreed to schedule additional hearings to resolve “pertinent factual disputes” related to key evidence in the case. Prosecutors expressed concern that holding evidentiary hearings would result in a “mini-trial” that would subject some key witnesses to cross-examination before the actual trial. “There is a difference between a resource-wasting and delay-producing ‘mini-trial,’ on the one hand,” Cannon wrote, “and an evidentiary hearing geared to adjudicating the contested factual and legal issues.” (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press / CNN / ABC News / USA Today / The Hill)

2/ The Supreme Court struck down part of a federal anti-corruption law and ruled that state officials may accept “gratuities” from people who wish to reward them for their official actions. The ruling vacates the bribery conviction of a former Indiana mayor, who accepted $13,000 from a trucking company after he directed about $1 million worth of city contracts to the company. The ruling, 6-3 along ideological lines, says federal anti-corruption laws only apply to situations where officials accept gifts before taking government action – not to being rewarded after. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent that the ruling relied on an “absurd and atextual reading of the statute” that “only today’s Court could love.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Vox / Huffpost / CNN / New Republic)

3/ The Supreme Court stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of its main tool for enforcing rules against securities fraud. The 6-3 decision means the SEC can no longer use its in-house court to enforce regulations and imposes penalties.Defendants accused of fraud now have the right to a jury trial. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented and accused the conservative majority of upending “longstanding precedent” to cut back on the authority of federal agencies and that “litigants who seek to dismantle the administrative state” would rejoice in the decision. (Associated Press / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / NBC News / Politico / NPR / Axios)

4/ The Supreme Court limited the EPA’s ability to regulate air quality. The EPA’s “Good Neighbor Plan” would curb nitrogen oxide pollution from industrial facilities, and apply to 23 “upwind” states whose emissions can contribute to pollution in “downwind” states. The EPA said the plan would help prevent premature deaths, reduce emergency room visits, and cut asthma symptoms by limiting the amount of smog. By a 5 to 4 vote, the court ruled that the emissions-reductions standards set by the “Good Neighbor Plan” were likely to cause “irreparable harm” to about half the states unless the court halted the rule to consider challenges pressed by upwind states. (NBC News / NPR / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times)

  • 📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until then.

  • 📺 TONIGHT: Biden-Trump debate.
    ⛔️ July 4: Independence Day – No WTFJHT.
    ⚖️ July 11: Trump is sentenced.
    🐘 July 15: Republican National Convention.
    🇮🇱 July 24: Netanyahu addresses joint session of Congress.
    🫏 Aug. 19: Democratic convention.
    ⛔️ Sept. 2: Labor Day – No WTFJHT.
    📺 Sept. 10: Biden-Trump debate.
    📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
    ⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
    🗳️ Nov. 5: Presidential Election.

Five years ago today: Day 889: Contrived.
Six years ago today: Day 524: Bad idea.