WASHINGTON — U.S. presidents enjoy full immunity from criminal prosecution for their official, “constitutional” acts, but no immunity for unofficial acts. This was decided by the Supreme Court on Monday, sending the case of former President Donald Trump back to the lower courts.
The judges left open the question of what scope official actions can have and whether they might change the contours of the American presidency.
Trump brought his immunity claim before the highest court in the country after two lower courts disputed his request for protection from federal indictment accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The decision on the actions of the likely Republican presidential candidate during his term in office will probably close the door that Trump’s election fraud case will go to court before Election Day.
The judges took up the case in February, but did not hear Oral statements until April 25th.
The court must now address the question of whether Trump’s alleged dissemination of false information about the 2020 election results and his conspiracy to overturn them constitute an official act of the president.
In a 6-3 OpinionChief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that the president could be prosecuted for unofficial acts “like anyone else.”
“But unlike any other branch of government, the President is a branch of government, and the Constitution vests in him broad powers and responsibilities,” Roberts wrote. “Recognizing that reality — and ensuring that the President can exercise that power forcefully, as the framers intended him to — does not place him above the law; it preserves the basic structure of the Constitution.”
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s conversations with Justice Department officials about the election results were official, but left unanswered questions about other conduct cited in the Justice Department’s special counsel, Jack Smith. accusation by Trump.
“Certain allegations – such as those involving Trump’s conversations with the acting Attorney General – are easily categorized given the nature of the President’s official relationship with the office held by that person,” the statement said. “Other allegations – such as those involving Trump’s interactions with the Vice President, government officials, and certain private citizens, as well as his comments to the public – raise more difficult questions.”
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the decision “protects the president from criminal prosecution if he abused the characteristics of his office to violate the criminal law.”
“If the holder of this office abuses his authority for his own personal gain, the criminal law that we are all bound by offers no protection,” Sotomayor wrote. “Out of fear for our democracy, I dissent.”
Trump card claims in court filings that he cannot be impeached for acts committed while in office. His legal team also argues that former presidents cannot be tried in court unless they are first impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate.
The indictment, which a federal grand jury brought in August 2023, claims Trump knowingly spread falsehoods among his supporters, plotted with co-conspirators to overturn the results in seven states, and ultimately incited his base into a frenzy that culminated in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, the day Congress was scheduled to certify the electoral votes.
Smith from the Justice Department calculated the former President of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing or attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy to violate rights.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
