It is a fundamental question: Are former presidents protected from prosecution while in office? The Supreme Court has an answer – and Trump will probably like it.
Donald Trump has won a significant partial victory before the US Supreme Court. On the question of whether former presidents are protected from prosecution, the court in Washington ruled that immunity applies at least for official acts. The judges returned the case to the lower court and instructed the responsible court to determine how the decision applies to Trump’s case. This is likely to further delay a possible start of a trial against Trump for attempted election fraud in the US capital Washington. It is considered unlikely that the trial will start before the presidential election in November.
“The President does not enjoy immunity for his unofficial actions, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law,” the decision states. This leaves open which parts of the charges against Trump still stand in Washington. The Supreme Court did not clarify this question. It is now up to the relevant lower court to find out which actions Trump’s immunity applies to. This is likely to be a lengthy process.
The verdict was passed with six votes to three. The majority of judges, considered to be ultra-conservative, agreed with the decision in principle. The three judges, considered to be liberal, dissented.
Charges against Donald Trump after storming of the Capitol
Trump, who is running for the Republicans in the presidential election in November, has been charged in the US capital in connection with attempted election fraud. Trump’s supporters stormed the parliament building in Washington on January 6, 2021. Before storming the Capitol, Trump had tried at various levels to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and reverse his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. He has been charged for this in the US capital Washington – proceedings against Trump for attempted election manipulation are also underway in the US state of Georgia.
Trump and his lawyers wanted to get the charges dropped in Washington. They invoked Trump’s immunity in his office as president at the time. They argued that Trump could not be prosecuted for acts that were part of his duties as president. They had already failed with this argument before an appeals court in the US capital. The judge in charge of the case had previously rejected this argument. Trump’s lawyers filed an appeal, which is why the case ended up before the Supreme Court.
Historic verdict
The Supreme Court, which has moved far to the right under Trump due to several replacements, has now taken a position on how much power US presidents have and where the limits of the rule of law lie. The Constitution does not explicitly grant presidents immunity, even while in office. However, the Justice Department has traditionally held the view that presidents cannot be indicted, at least while in the White House. The ruling with regard to the legal recourse for ex-presidents will also have immense significance for future presidents and can already be seen as historic.
At the Supreme Court hearing at the end of April, the judges listened to arguments from Trump’s lawyer and the opposing side for around three hours. “This case has enormous implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” said conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh. Some judges indicated in their questions that while they do not support full immunity, certain actions should be protected from prosecution.
Several proceedings are pending against Trump
Several criminal proceedings are now underway against Trump in the middle of the election campaign. Trump is also accused of attempted election fraud in the US state of Georgia. In Florida, he is accused of allegedly illegally storing secret documents.
And in New York, the Republican was convicted at the end of May of illegally making hush money payments to a porn actress. The sentencing is scheduled for mid-July. Trump has announced an appeal against the verdict.
The Republican has maintained his innocence in all proceedings and portrays the investigations against him as an attempt by his political opponents to sideline him. So far, the criminal investigations have not harmed Trump in polls.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is also likely to have an impact on the federal election fraud case in Georgia and the secret documents case – but the extent to which this will affect the case will only become clear in the coming weeks.
Transparency note: This article has been updated.
