On Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump enjoys partial immunity from prosecution, a decision likely to delay his trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The ruling, split 6-3 along ideological lines, comes just four months before the presidential election where Trump is the Republican candidate facing off against Democrat Joe Biden.
The ruling, split 6-3 along ideological lines, comes just four months before the presidential election where Trump is the Republican candidate facing off against Democrat Joe Biden.
This landmark case, the final one heard during the Supreme Court’s current term, carries significant implications for executive power and the upcoming White House race.
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, delivering the majority opinion, stated that while a president is “not above the law,” they do possess “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for official acts performed while in office.
“The president therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” Roberts explained. However, he clarified that this immunity does not extend to a president’s unofficial acts, sending the case back to a lower court to determine which charges against Trump involve official versus unofficial conduct.
Previously, both a District Court and a three-judge appeals court panel had rejected Trump’s claims of immunity. With the case now returning to the District Court, a series of lengthy pre-trial hearings are anticipated, making it unlikely for the trial to commence before the November election.
Trump faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding, specifically the January 6, 2021, joint session of Congress to certify Biden’s victory. Additional charges include conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and to have their votes counted.
In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed grave concerns for democracy, stating, “Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law.” She warned that the ruling effectively places the president above the law in matters of official power, using hyperbolic examples to underscore the potential dangers.
Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social, calling it a “big win for our Constitution and democracy.” Meanwhile, Biden’s reelection campaign argued that Trump “thinks he’s above the law.”
Trump’s trial, initially set for March 4, was put on hold when the Supreme Court agreed in February to hear his argument for absolute presidential immunity, considering the matter in April.
Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, commented that the ruling could significantly prolong the case, extending it well beyond the election. He noted that the decision provides a “roadmap” for a president to avoid prosecution by entangling actions with official duties, complicating the prosecution of a former president.
Trump, facing four criminal cases, has been actively seeking to delay the trials until after the election. In May, he was convicted in New York of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 campaign, making him the first former US president ever convicted of a crime. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
Through a series of pre-trial motions, Trump’s lawyers have managed to postpone his three other trials, which involve attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents at his Florida residence. If re-elected, Trump could potentially order the federal cases against him to be closed once he assumes office in January 2025.
