Supreme Court Rules Former Presidents Entitled to Immunity And This Boosting Trump’s Legal Defense
Supreme Court Rules Former Presidents Entitled to Immunity And This Boosting Trump‘s Legal Defense: The US Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents are entitled to some degree of immunity from criminal prosecution,
a decision widely seen as a victory for Donald Trump. The court’s conservative majority, which Trump helped establish,
found that presidents are protected from prosecution for official actions that fall within the “outer perimeter” of their office,
but can face charges for unofficial conduct.
The ruling comes as Trump faces accusations of overseeing a sprawling effort to subvert the 2020 election, including conspiring
to obstruct the certification of the election results, defraud the government, and disenfranchise voters. The allegations against
Trump include spreading false claims of election fraud, plotting to recruit fake slates of electors, pressuring Justice Department
officials to open sham investigations into election fraud, and pressuring his vice president, Mike Pence, to
obstruct Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s win.
The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the presiding US district judge, Tanya Chutkan, to
determine whether Trump’s alleged
attempts to overturn the 2020 election results were official acts. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, found that Trump’s
threat to fire the then-acting attorney general for refusing to open investigations was protected, as was his effort to pressure Pence. However,
the court left the bulk of the analysis up to Chutkan, who will have to review the indictment line by line.
the rulling
The ruling has been criticized by liberals and others who believe Trump’s case should be resolved before voters cast their ballots in the forthcoming election.
Trump’s legal strategy has been to delay his federal criminal cases until after the election, in the hope that he will be re-elected and can appoint a
loyalist as attorney general who would drop the charges. As a result, a trial in Trump’s election subversion case cannot start until September 20 at the earliest.
The Supreme Court’s decision has sparked debate over the limits of presidential immunity and the potential implications for future presidents.
While the ruling does not entirely shield Trump from prosecution, it sets a high bar for prosecutors to prove that his actions were unofficial
and therefore subject to criminal charges.
The case is likely to continue to be a contentious issue in the lead-up to the election, with Trump’s opponents arguing that he should be
held accountable for any illegal actions he may have taken while in office.