watch
now
The
Supreme
Court
ruled
Monday
that
Donald
Trump
has
“presumptive
immunity”
for
official
acts
he
performed
as
president,
complicating
but
not
killing
special
counsel
Jack
Smith’s
election
interference
case.
The
court
also
ruled
that
Trump
is
not
immune
for
“unofficial
acts.”
And
“not
everything
the
President
does
is
official,”
the
majority
determined.
But
the
decision
effectively
erases
any
chance
that
the
high-profile
criminal
case
against
the
presumptive
Republican
presidential
nominee
will
head
to
trial
before
the
Nov.
5
election.
The
6-3
ruling,
which
was
opposed
by
the
court’s
three
liberal
justices,
sends
the
case
back
to
U.S.
District
Judge
Tanya
Chutkan.
“The
President
is
not
above
the
law,”
Chief
Justice
John
Roberts
wrote
for
the
majority.
“But
Congress
may
not
criminalize
the
President’s
conduct
in
carrying
out
the
responsibilities
of
the
Executive
Branch
under
the
Constitution,”
Roberts
ruled.
That
means
the
president
is
“absolutely
immune
from
criminal
prosecution
for
conduct
within
his
exclusive
sphere
of
constitutional
authority,”
Roberts
wrote.
That
covers
actions
such
as
granting
pardons
or
removing
presidentially
appointed
executive
officers,
he
wrote.
The
president
also
enjoys
“at
least
a
presumptive
immunity
from
criminal
prosecution”
for
acts
performed
“within
the
outer
perimeter
of
his
official
responsibility,”
the
majority
concluded.
That
standard
“is
required
to
safeguard
the
independence
and
effective
functioning
of
the
Executive
Branch,”
the
chief
justice
explained.
In
practice,
that
means
that
the
president
is
immune
from
prosecution
“unless
the
Government
can
show
that
applying
a
criminal
prohibition
to
that
act
would
pose
no
‘dangers
of
intrusion
on
the
authority
and
functions
of
the
Executive
Branch,'”
Roberts
wrote.
Justice
Sonia
Sotomayor
in
a
blistering
dissent
wrote,
“this
majority’s
project
will
have
disastrous
consequences
for
the
Presidency
and
for
our
democracy.”
“The
relationship
between
the
President
and
the
people
he
serves
has
shifted
irrevocably.
In
every
use
of
official
power,
the
President
is
now
a
king
above
the
law,”
she
wrote.
“When
he
uses
his
official
powers
in
any
way,
under
the
majority’s
reasoning,
he
now
will
be
insulated
from
criminal
prosecution,”
Sotomayor
wrote.
“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.”
“With
fear
for
our
democracy,
I
dissent,”
she
wrote.
Trump
celebrated
the
ruling
soon
after
its
release
Monday
morning.
“BIG
WIN
FOR
OUR
CONSTITUTION
AND
DEMOCRACY.
PROUD
TO
BE
AN
AMERICAN!”
he
wrote
on
Truth
Social.
Trump
is
charged
in
a
four-count
indictment
with
illegally
conspiring
to
overturn
his
loss
to
President
Joe
Biden
in
the
2020
presidential
election.
The
case
in
Washington,
D.C.,
federal
court
has
been
on
pause
while
Trump
argues
that
he
is
immune
from
prosecution
for
any
official
acts
he
performed
while
he
was
president.
Lawyers
for
Trump
contended
that
an
ex-president
cannot
be
charged
for
their
official
acts
in
office
unless
they
are
impeached
and
convicted
by
Congress.
Trump
was
impeached
in
the
House
for
inciting
an
insurrection
on
Jan.
6,
2021,
when
a
mob
of
his
supporters
stormed
the
U.S.
Capitol
and
temporarily
blocked
lawmakers
from
confirming
Biden’s
electoral
victory.
He
was
acquitted
in
the
Senate,
where
the
Constitution
requires
a
two-thirds
vote
to
secure
a
conviction.
The
pause
of
the
election
case
forced
Chutkan
to
postpone
Trump’s
trial,
which
was
initially
set
to
start
March
4.
Critics
fumed
when
the
high
court
decided
to
take
up
the
immunity
question,
rather
than
let
stand
an
appellate
court
ruling
rejecting
Trump’s
immunity
claims.
The
Supreme
Court’s
intervention
guaranteed
months
of
additional
delay
and
threatened
to
push
any
trial
past
the
Nov.
5
election.
The
election
case
is
often
considered
the
most
serious
of
the
four
criminal
indictments
that
have
been
filed
against
Trump
while
he
seeks
another
term
as
president.
