The US president has immunity from prosecution for official acts in the exercise of his office, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision with huge implications for presidential powers and criminal cases against Donald Trump.
The case centered on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for allegedly plotting efforts to overthrow the 2020 election while he was in office, including on Jan. 6.
The former president’s team argued that Trump, and any president, should have absolute immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office or it could undermine important decision-making.
The court’s 6-3 decision split along ideological lines ensures that Trump will not face another blockbuster trial before the November election as the case is sent back to a lower court to determine what counts as his “official” and “unofficial” acts.
“The President does not enjoy immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything he does is official. The President is not above the law,” the majority of the justices, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, wrote.
Donald Trump is the first former president convicted of a crime. He faces charges in three other criminal cases, including one related to efforts to overturn the 2020 interference in Washington, DC.
“But under our system of separated powers, the President cannot be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumed immunity from prosecution for his official acts. That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”
Trump celebrated the decision, writing in Truth Social: “GREAT VICTORY FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Roberts wrote in the ruling that Trump is also “at least presumptively immune” from allegations related to the “pressure campaign” on former Vice President Mike Pence in connection with the certification of the 2020 vote.
Trump is also “absolutely immune” from alleged misconduct during discussions with the Justice Department.
The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling could also impact Trump’s two other ongoing criminal cases: for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and for election subversion efforts in Georgia.
Roberts’ majority opinion continues: ‘At a minimum, the President should be immune from prosecution for an official act unless the Government can demonstrate that applying a criminal prohibition to that act would not pose “dangers of intrusion into the authority and functions of the Branch.” Executive”.
The Supreme Court currently has a six-to-three conservative majority, with three of the conservative justices nominated by Trump during his tenure.
The Biden campaign responded to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision with a statement from a senior campaign adviser.
“Today’s ruling does not change the facts, so let’s be very clear about what happened on January 6: Donald Trump blew up after losing the 2020 election and encouraged a mob to overturn the results of a free and fair election.” .
Lawyers representing the special counsel had argued that a president can face charges for committing crimes while in office and that no public official has absolute immunity.
The decision comes as Trump faces criminal charges in three criminal cases and has already been found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York last month.
He is the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
During oral arguments that addressed some wild hypotheses, the justices appeared to reject granting presidents absolute immunity, but their line of questioning suggested they might delay Trump’s trial while he runs for president for a third time.
Liberal justices worried that giving ruling presidents complete immunity would be no different than creating a king who could have the power to stage a military coup or assassinate political opponents.
The conservative justices signaled they wanted to provide at least some legal safeguards to protect Trump and future presidents from impeachment.
Arguing on behalf of the special counsel, Michael Dreeben asserted that there are some presidential acts that could not be criminalized and that they have to do with “basic” constitutional powers specifically described in Article II, such as the power to pardon, make appointments, recognize foreign nations and veto legislation.
Trump is accused of attempting to overthrow the 2020 election, including the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The conservative justices appeared to point out that the fraudulent conspiracy statute used to charge Trump in the Jan. 6 election interference case is too broad.
The Supreme Court case stems from Smith’s election interference case against Trump filed in Washington, DC.
Trump is accused of efforts to overthrow the 2020 election, including the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He faces four charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction or attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
This is possibly the most serious of the four cases against the former president.
Special Counsel Jack Smith brought charges against former President Trump for the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump is not immune from prosecution.
As lower courts awaited the Supreme Court’s decision, Chutkan previously assured Trump that he would have two months of pretrial preparation before any trial would move forward.
The current US Supreme Court has a conservative majority of six to three.
This suggests the earliest the case could take place is September, just as the 2024 campaign season kicks into high gear.
Trump also faces criminal cases in Florida over classified documents and in Georgia over election interference.