Political Ponderings is a new column covering national, state and local political news and events through the Midterm Elections in November. 

Last week recapped the Jan. 6 Committee hearings. This week includes coverage of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. 

Overturning Roe v. Wade

On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court ended federal protection for the right to an abortion with the 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade from 1973. 

The majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were in the dissent.

“With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent,” the three liberal justices wrote.

The conservative court majority decision ended the protection of abortion as a fundamental right to privacy as outlined in the 14th Amendment and sent regulation of abortion to the state legislatures.

Alito’s opinion states that any state restrictions on abortion are valid to serve “legitimate state’s interests.”

Abortion is now illegal in all or most cases in 15 states across the U.S., with many of those states reverting to pre-Roe laws immediately following the Supreme Court ruling. 

Wisconsin reverted back to its abortion ban passed in 1849, just one year after establishing its statehood. 

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called a special legislature session in June to repeal the 173-year-old ban. The republican-controlled state senate adjourned the session after 15 seconds, despite objections from senate democrats. 

Abortion rights are likely to be an important topic in Wisconsin and the country heading into the November elections and candidates are already heavily debating the issue.

Raid in Mar-a-Lago

Later in the summer, news of another event made headlines when the FBI conducted a raid on former President Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago.

On Aug. 8, the FBI entered the Florida mansion to search for classified documents that were suspected to be illegally taken from the White House when Trump left the office in January of 2021. 

The FBI seized 33 boxes of evidence including over 100 documents with classifications ranging from “confidential” to “top secret” according to a CBS News report. 

The FBI and the Department of Justice are now in a complicated legal battle with the former president. The case is ongoing and still developing.

Trump has claimed he declassified the documents in question before leaving the White House, even telling FOX News host Sean Hannity he could do so just by thinking it.

“You’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it,” Trump said in an exclusive interview.

As the legal battle continues to unfold, Trump could face conviction for federal crimes. 

Mohr can be reached at [email protected].