Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

We'll begin with the Supreme Court's final ruling on Monday, a 6 to 3 decision granting absolute

immunity to Donald Trump from prosecution for official acts after giving him months of delay

by taking up the case in the first place which most legal scholars thought was unnecessary.

Joining us to discuss how American presidents can now commit crimes because of a ruling designed to help a former president now convicted of crimes is Lisa Gilbert, the Vice President of Legislative Affairs at Public Citizen, where she advocates for government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice and consumer protection. She has testified before Congress and is a contributor to the Hill,

and back in April, public citizens submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court

in an appropriately named case, Trump v. the United States.

Then we will speak with Jeremy Surrey,

who holds a Mack Brown distinguished chair for leadership in global affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he's a professor of history and public affairs.

He's the co-host of the podcast, This is Democracy, and the author and editor of a number of books, including The Impossible Presidency, the rise and Fall of America's Highest Office,

Henry Kissinger in the American Century, and most recently Civil War by other means,

America's long and unfinished fight for democracy.

He has an article at his substack, which we will discuss,

Hope in Dark Times, which offers a way forward,

as many Americans are reeling from the one-two

punch of Biden's debate performance and today's Supreme Court ruling.

Then finally, we'll get an expert opinion on French politics following Sunday's election

that saw the far-right National Party making alarming gains ahead of next Sunday's second round

election, which now has the parties on the left maneuvering to overcome their fractious divisions

to unite with the centre to block a takeover of Parliament by a neo-fascist party

posing as champions of white working people, being displaced by brown and black immigrants.

Joining us is Philippe Marguerier, a professor of French and European politics at University

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