Roberts sent Trump a clear message that he had better not violate court orders in his year-end report yesterday. This presumably was a response to comments made by Vance over the years to the effect that conservative reverence for the law would have to be selective. Should we be reassured by this?
Two observations are pertinent here. First of all, given Trump’s experience with the law over the last year, including the immunity decision, it is unlikely he will be intimidated by a mere shot across his bow. Second, Roberts, as I’ve said many times, resembles Mitch McConnell, whose barking at Trump has always been much more menacing than his bite. Don’t be surprised if the Chief Justice uses empty rhetorical flourishes to uphold the majesty of the rule of law but gives Trump most of what he wants, regardless of how extreme his agenda is, in order to avoid conflict with MAGA.