Trump can claim immunity over official acts, court rules

Former presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday – extending the delay in the criminal case against Donald Trump on charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, and all but ending the prospect that he could be tried before the November election.

- ARIANA BAIO, ALEX WOODWARD

In a 6-3 decision released yesterday, the court rejected Trump’s suggestion of total immunity, but said some of the actions laid out in the federal election interference indictment related to his official acts and are protected.

“The president enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the president does is official. The president is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalise the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the constitution,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.

The court’s conservative majority granted Trump “presumptive immunity” for actions that the former president claims were in the “outer perimeter” of his official duties. “Such an immunity is required to safeguard the independence and effective functioning of the executive branch, and to enable the president to carry out his constitutional duties without undue caution,” the justices wrote.

But “there is no immunity” from “unofficial acts”, which the judge overseeing Trump’s federal election interference case must now determine, according to the ruling.

Trump yesterday posted in all capital letters on his social media network shortly after the decision was released: “BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”

Trump’s alleged pressure campaign against Mike Pence and state officials to reverse election results, among other acts outlined in the indictment against him, “present more difficult questions” when it comes to immunity from prosecution, according to the justices.