This morning, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump can claim immunity from criminal prosecution for certain official actions taken during the final days of his presidency.
According to the court, unofficial actions do not receive immunity.
The court nullified a judgment from a federal appeals court in February, which found that Trump should receive no immunity for alleged crimes he committed in attempting to reverse the 2020 election results, meaning that related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results will not be dismissed but some actions closely connected to his core duties as president are off-limits to prosecutors.
The 6-3 decision will further set back special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump. Smith had hoped to try the former president before the November election
“Certain allegations – such as those involving Trump’s discussions with the Acting Attorney General — are readily categorized in light of the nature of the president’s official relationship to the office held by that individual,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. “Other allegations – such as those involving Trump’s interactions with the vice president, state officials, and certain private parties, and his comments to the general public – present more difficult questions,” Roberts wrote.
As expected, Justice Clarence Thomas concurred, writing, “No former President has faced criminal prosecution for his acts while in office in the more than 200 years since the founding of our country. And, that is so despite numerous past Presidents taking actions that many would argue constitute crimes.”
Thomas added “If this unprecedented prosecution is to proceed, it must be conducted by someone duly authorized to do so by the American people. The lower courts should thus answer these essential questions concerning the special counsel’s appointment before proceeding.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent that the majority’s ruling “breaks new and dangerous ground” by granting immunity “only to the most powerful official in our Government.”
“That core principle has long prevented our Nation from devolving into despotism,” Jackson stated. “Yet the Court now opts to let down the guardrails of the law for one extremely powerful category of citizen: any future President who has the will to flout Congress’s established boundaries.”
A senior Biden campaign issued a statement condemning the ruling.
“Donald Trump snapped after he lost the 2020 election and encouraged a mob to overthrow the results of a free and fair election,” the adviser said. “Trump is already running for president as a convicted felon for the very same reason he sat idly by while the mob violently attacked the Capitol: he thinks he’s above the law and is willing to do anything to gain and hold onto power for himself. He’s promising to be a dictator ‘on day one,’ calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain power, and promising a “bloodbath” if he loses. The American people already rejected Donald Trump’s self-obsessed quest for power once — Joe Biden will make sure they reject it for good in November.”
