This week, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump received good and bad news ahead of his four looming criminal trials. The bad: On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit decisively rejected the former president's absolute immunity claim, dealing what is likely to be a fatal blow to his best defense in the federal (and state) cases over his alleged election interference. The case is likely headed to the Supreme Court, which is expected to also reject his argument. However, the Supreme Court seemed to soften the blow by appearing highly skeptical of Colorado's decision to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot during oral arguments on Thursday. The justices expressed concerns about the consequences of upholding the disqualification and appeared generally wary of the issue.
In line with recent polling showing him dominating the GOP primary, Trump won 26 delegates in Thursday's Nevada Republican caucus. Trump's main rival Nikki Haley was not on the caucus ballot, however, a strange set-up that resulted from a conflict between state Republican officials and the Democratic-controlled legislature in 2021. Also, after a yearlong probe, special counsel Robert Hur released his report on President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents. Hur found that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen" but concluded charges were not warranted.
Meanwhile in Congress, a historic bipartisan compromise on border policy and security aid swiftly collapsed after Republicans defied both their own substantive concerns about the border and their past claims about executive overreach to condemn the bill at Trump's behest. On Wednesday, the GOP's week of chaos worsened when House Republicans suffered a spectacularly embarrassing defeat in their monthslong campaign to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, failing to pass the resolution by a vote of 214-216 when a Democratic House member's unexpected return from the hospital threw off their vote count.
Missed something? Don't worry. Here are our select columns and videos from the week. And don't forget to check out MSNBC.com for more.
