Good morning. It's Saturday, June 15th. I'm Melissa Murray filling in this morning for my friend and colleague, Ali Valshi.

With just one month until the Republican National Convention, there are three criminal cases still pending

against the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

There's one Supreme Court case that could bury all of these prosecutions once it's decided.

And there are no fewer than three historic scandals unspooling in real time every day from

that very same Supreme Court, all of which is putting the court at the

very forefront of this crucial election. Aside from the multiple ways in which the court could

affect the candidacy and pending criminal prosecutions of the twice impeached and recently convicted

ex-president, the institution continues to be mired in controversy. Concerns about the court's ethical standards have reached new heights in the past few weeks

following the recent revelation that Justice Samuel Alito, or rather his wife, Martha Ann Alito,

displayed flags that are associated with far-right causes at their residences.

The fallout for the Alito's continued this week after

progressive activist Lauren Windsor released secretly recorded audio of conversations she had with the

couple while undercover at a Supreme Court Historical Society event. These tapes included Mrs.

Alito complaining about the pride flag and Justice Alito apparently endorsing Windsor's suggestion

to, quote, return our country to a place of godliness. Additionally, Clarence Thomas's close ties to

Republican megadoner Harlan Crowe continue to be scrutinized. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee

revealed that Justice Thomas had gone on even more trips

on Crow's private jet than previously known, travel that the justice had not previously disclosed.

These controversies are pushing the Supreme Court toward a crisis of legitimacy, all while the court

winds down October term 2023, releasing a raft of consequential

decisions in cases that concern abortion, guns, and government regulation. Just yesterday,

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