The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the former president Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from federal prosecution for official actions he took while in office, a historic decision at the height of an election season that could further delay the start of his criminal trial in Washington, D.C.
The 6-3 ruling rejects a federal appeals court ruling in Washington that found Trump is not entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges stemming from an alleged scheme to maintain power after the 2020 election.
The ruling by the nation’s highest court is an expansion of presidential power, as it extends immunity from criminal prosecution to former presidents for their official conduct. Never before has the Supreme Court considered whether a former commander in chief could face criminal charges as a result of conduct that occurred while he was in the Oval Office.
Trump is the first to hold the presidency and face prosecution. He has pleaded not guilty to four charges stemming from an alleged effort to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.
The Supreme Court’s decision
“We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separate powers, the nature of presidential power requires that a former president have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his term. At least with respect to the exercise of the president’s core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. “As for his remaining official actions, he is also entitled to immunity. At the current stage of the proceedings in this case, however, we do not need and have not decided whether this immunity should be absolute or, instead, whether a presumptive immunity is sufficient. “
In concluding that former presidents have broad legal protections against prosecution for alleged acts that fall within their official duties, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s claims that he is entitled to broad and absolute immunity from lawsuits involving unofficial acts. . Such a ruling would have ended special counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution.
The decision makes it highly unlikely that a trial will take place before the November presidential election.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has sought to delay proceedings in the 2020 election-related case, as well as two other lawsuits, until after the next presidential contest. If Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November, he could order the Justice Department to try to drop federal charges against him or issue a pardon for himself, although the constitutionality of that maneuver has not been tested.
In addition to the charges in Washington, Trump was indicted in South Florida for allegedly mishandling sensitive government documents after leaving the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to the 40 federal charges he faces there. Trump is also being prosecuted in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 state election results and has pleaded not guilty to all state charges.
The dispute over presidential immunity has thrust the justices into a politically charged legal fight just months before the election. The former president has alleged that he is being unfairly targeted in an effort to protect Mr. Biden, although there is no evidence that the accusation — brought by a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland — is politically motivated.
It was also the second instance this term in which the Supreme Court has decided a case with significant political or legal ramifications for Trump. In March, the high court unanimously ruled that states cannot bar Trump from voting, using an obscure provision of the 14th Amendment that bars former insurgents from holding public office.
Trump appointed three of the court’s nine justices, expanding his conservative majority to 6-3. He had urged the Supreme Court to effectively rule that former presidents are insulated from accountability by the legal system.
The Supreme Court heard arguments in Trump’s appeal in late April and they were the last of his term. The arguments also occurred alongside the historic six-week criminal trial involving Trump, which was held in New York, where a jury of 12 convicted him of 34 state felony counts of falsifying business records.
The landmark verdict made Trump the first former president to be found guilty of a crime. He has vowed to appeal, a process that could take months or even years to complete. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan on July 11.
The proceedings involving Trump in his criminal cases were unprecedented and, in the case related to the 2020 elections, raised an issue that the Supreme Court had never confronted before. During oral arguments, the conservative justices seemed acutely aware that his decision would apply to all future presidencies and were concerned about the possible ramifications for those who occupy the Oval Office in the years to come.
Trump’s lawyers urged the justices to reverse lower court rulings that allowed his case to proceed, including a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. They argued that the unprecedented nature of the charges against Trump was proof that presidents are largely immune from criminal prosecution for official acts.
But Smith and his team of prosecutors argued that no person is above the law, including former presidents. They said Trump’s alleged conduct was outside his official duties as president and part of a private scheme to stay in power.
This story was originally published by CBS News on July 1, 2024.
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