Near the end of his opinion in Trump v. United States , Chief Justice John Roberts chastises the dissenting justices for “ignoring the Constitution’s separation of powers” and “fear mongering on the basis of extreme hypotheticals” that imagine a future ruled by a lawbreaking president. He might as well have called them hysterical. Among their fears: a world where the commander-in-chief orders the armed forces to assassinate a political opponent or critic, a president takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon, and a leader wields any of his vast powers as top law enforcer in ways Congress has deemed criminal for everyone else.

The 6-3 decision in favor of Donald Trump did more than halt the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president, who was charged with the first-ever c

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