WTH? Supreme Court Grants Presidential Immunity To Convicted Felon Donald Trump In Landmark Ruling
In a landmark ruling on July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions within his constitutional powers as president.
The controversial decision marks the first recognition of any form of presidential immunity from prosecution. The 6-3 ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, overturned a lower court’s decision that had rejected Trump’s claim of immunity from federal criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
The court’s six conservative justices formed the majority, while its three liberal members dissented. The 119-page document delved into Trump’s egregious crimes.
Trump, who is a staunch Republican, threw his hat in the election ring to re-tun against Biden, a Democrat, in the upcoming November 5 U.S. election.
The Supreme Court’s lengthy deliberation and decision to return key questions about the scope of Trump’s immunity to the trial judge make it unlikely that he will be tried on these charges before the election. Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed in November 2022, brought the charges against the disgraced former president.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power requires that a former president have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his tenure in office.” Roberts further stated that immunity for former presidents is “absolute” concerning their “core constitutional powers” and that a former president has “at least a presumptive immunity” for “acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility,” meaning prosecutors face a high legal bar to overcome this presumption.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, along with her liberal peers– Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson– penned a terse dissent, saying the ruling effectively creates a “law-free zone around the president.”
“When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune,” Sotomayor wrote.
“In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law,” Sotomayor added.
“Departing from the traditional model of individual accountability, the majority has concocted something entirely different: a Presidential accountability model that creates immunity — an exemption from criminal law— applicable only to the most powerful official in our Government,” Brown Jackson explained.
The new ruling could impact parts of the special counsel’s case as U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan considers the extent of Trump’s immunity.
X app users weighed in on the new ruling. Here are some of the best responses.