Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

‘Can’t Do Everything’: Alan Dershowitz Says SCOTUS Just Undercut Dems’ Claim That Trump Is Above Law

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Constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that the Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump’s administration proves the country’s “system of checks and balances is still operating.”

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday to uphold an injunction by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, mandating the Trump administration pay $2 billion to organizations for work already completed after funds had been frozen since the president signed an executive order on Jan. 20 directing a review of foreign aid initiatives. Ali ruled Thursday that the funds must be paid out to workers by Mar. 10, according to NBC News.

Dershowitz, on “CUOMO,” said the Supreme Court made the ruling to signal that the Trump administration does not have unlimited authority.

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“It was a very hastily written, not particularly thought through, opinion, but it probably came to the right result,” Dershowitz told host Chris Cuomo. “Its goal was to send a message to the Trump administration: ‘Wait, you can’t do everything. We still have a system of checks and balances and we’re going to be reviewing things like this. You acted too hastily. Instead of saying, ready, aim fire, you did fire and then ready and aim. You cut much too quickly, not with a scalpel, but with a chainsaw, and so everybody acted too quickly.'”

“I think the lesson here is that our system of checks and balances is still operating,” he added. “There are five justices of the Supreme Court, even including one who was appointed by Donald Trump, who will hold Donald Trump to account. That’s the clear message.”

Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined three liberal associate justices, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, in the ruling. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his dissent, joined by Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, that he does not believe Ali should have the authority to make the Trump administration pay out the funds.

“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” he wrote. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”

Dershowitz said Wednesday that Alito’s dissent was right “on the merits.”

Several liberal legal scholars argued in The New York Times in February that Trump’s efforts to reform the federal government have led to a “constitutional crisis,” with one characterizing the president’s actions as “lawless.” Several Democratic lawmakers similarly alleged in February that the president and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk are pushing the nation into a “constitutional crisis.”

Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff also accused Trump of believing he is not subject to the law after he posted, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law” on Truth Social on Feb. 15.

“Spoken like a true dictator,” Schiff posted on X the same day.

Moreover, after the Supreme Court’s July 1 presidential immunity ruling, former Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said it was “nothing less than a blueprint for a lawless dictator to take root in the Oval Office of the White House,” according to The Hill.