US Supreme Court grants Trump immunity from official acts
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The news: The US Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump is entitled to some immunity from prosecution, which may delay his trial on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
The numbers: The 6-3 decision, split along partisan lines, determined that Trump is immune from prosecution for his official acts as president.
The context: It was the first time since the nation’s 18th century founding that the Supreme Court has declared former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance.
Trump is facing charges of conspiracy and obstruction related to his efforts to stay in power after losing the election. The case now returns to the lower court to determine if Trump's actions were official or private. The ruling makes a pre-election trial unlikely and if Trump wins the election, he could potentially order the Justice Department to drop the charges.
What they said: In the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that while the president is not above the law, Congress cannot criminalise his conduct in executing constitutional responsibilities.
“The president is not above the law,” he wrote. “But Congress may not criminalise the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution. And the system of separated powers designed by the Framers has always demanded an energetic, independent executive. The president therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.”
The Supreme Court's three Democratic appointees strongly dissented against the ruling, arguing the decision effectively elevates the president above the law.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that it creates a "law-free zone" around the president, allowing potential misuse of official powers.
“Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune,” she wrote, adding: “Even if these nightmare scenarios never play out, and I pray they never do, the damage has been done. The relationship between the president and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably.”
The sources: US Supreme Court, The New York Times , Reuters
