The U.S. Supreme Court awards a major victory to Donald Trump recognizing that the former president enjoys immunity for some of the actions he is accused of in the election interference trial. “A great victory for our Constitution and democracy. I am proud to be an American,” Trump exults on Truth Social.
The sentence, which was approved with the favorable votes of the 6 conservative judges and the negative votes of the three liberal judges, will not cause the federal proceedings against Trump to be dismissed, since he was not granted total immunity, but will have the effect of further delaying the possible start of the trial. And so Trump thus most likely avoids the risk of having to return to the dock, this time in a federal trial with potentially serious charges, before the November vote.
The president ‘untouchable’ for what acts?
In particular, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that presidents have absolute immunity for clearly official acts but no immunity for unofficial onesThe ruling then states that the former president is protected from prosecution for official actions that extended to the “outermost perimeter” of his office, but instead can be prosecuted for private or personal actions.
The majority ruling, signed by Chief Justice John Roberts, provides that the two proceedings against Trump – the one for the secret papers in Florida and the one for election interference in Washington – will now return to the lower courts to determine, on light of the decision of the supreme judges, on which charges he can be tried and on which he cannot.
Three judges against: “Now the president is a king”
“The relationship between the president and the people he serves has changed irrevocably. The president is now a king above the law“. This is what Sonia Sotomayor wrote, who, together with the other two liberal justices of the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, expressed her dissent to the decision of the Supreme Court majority.
“This new immunity for official acts now stands as a loaded weapon at the disposal of any president who wishes to place his own interests, his political survival and his financial advantage above the interests of the nation”, we read further in the Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion warns of the long-term consequences of today’s Court decision creating a “free zone” around the president.
“The president of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, probably in the world – the judge writes – when he uses his official powers, according to the majority’s reasoning, he will now be protected from criminal prosecution. Does he order Navy Seal Team 6 to assassinate his political rival? He’s immune. Organize a military coup to stay in power? Immune. Do you accept bribes in exchange for a pardon? Immune, immune, immune.”
Biden campaign: “Sentence does not change facts”
The US Supreme Court ruling “does not change the facts, we must be clear about what happened on January 6: Donald Trump went nuts after he lost the 2020 election and encouraged the mob to overturn the results of a free and fair election,” comments Joe Biden’s election campaign.
“Trump is already running for president as a convicted felon for the same reasons he stood still while mobs violently attacked Congress,” the statement continues, “he thinks he is above the law and is willing to do anything to get and keep power for himself.”
