The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, June 28, 2024. A divided US Supreme Court threw out a decades-old legal doctrine that empowered federal regulators to interpret unclear laws, issuing a blockbuster ruling that will constrain environmental, consumer and financial-watchdog agencies. Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Whew! The Supreme Court has seemingly inadvertently handed Donald Trump a win weeks after his 34-count conviction. It has ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, per AP.
Since Trump’s conviction, there have been questions about his eligibility for the White House race. He’s still facing charges in a Washington, D.C., election case. He’s accused of plotting to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss. Now, he likely won’t see a conviction before the election in November, per AP.
The court’s conservative majority won the vote in a 6-3 ruling. Note that Donald Trump appointed three of the judges on the bench. The court’s decision highlighted how the justices have been thrust into an impactful role in the November presidential election.
Earlier, they had rejected efforts to bar Trump from the ballot because of his actions following the 2020 election. The court last week also limited an obstruction charge faced by Trump and used against hundreds of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power entitles a former president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court. “And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
The chief justice insisted that the president “is not above the law.” But in a fiery dissent for the court’s three liberals, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”
Trump wasted no time celebrating the news. On Monday, he posted on his Truth social platform in all caps.
“BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
President Joe Biden’s campaign said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling “doesn’t change the facts” about the events of Jan. 6.
Under Monday’s decision, a former president could be prosecuted for accepting a bribe, but prosecutors could not mention the official act, the appointment, in their case.
The work of figuring out how to proceed will fall to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over Trump’s trial. Before the Supreme Court got involved, a trial judge and a three-judge appellate panel had ruled unanimously that Trump could be prosecuted for actions undertaken while in the White House and in the run-up to Jan. 6.
Chutkan ruled against Trump’s immunity claim in December. In her ruling, Chutkan said the office of the president “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”
Additionally, the former president is in the news cycle for his first presidential debate against Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The presidential opponents faced off in a hot-and-cold debate, complete with personal insults and questions about who won the people’s favor and who gave the better debate answers.
If you’ve heard anyone speaking about “Black jobs,” they’re quoting one of the debate’s many viral moments.
Associated Press staff Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
