The Supreme Court justices appear poised to offer Donald Trump and future US presidents some form of immunity from criminal prosecution for their actions while in office – while rejecting broad absolute immunity.
The nation’s highest court heard oral arguments yesterday in a historic case which the justices acknowledged has “huge implications” for not only the former president’s criminal cases but also for America’s future. “This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said.
Mr Trump’s lawyers claim he has presidential immunity from charges of federal election interference brought by special counsel Jack Smith over the former president’s actions around the 2020 election. Mr Smith’s office claims that he does not.
During the arguments, the conservative male majority of the court toyed with the idea of awarding some protections to Mr Trump in his case.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas raised concerns that, without protections, presidents could face politically-motivated prosecution for actions they take while in office.
A narrow decision that aligns with that line of thinking would outline certain types of “official acts” that justices believe are protected from criminal prosecution.
Mr Trump has previously contended that all the charges relate to “official” acts, rather than “private” acts, and so are protected by presidential immunity.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 26, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 26, 2024-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Champion Humphries eases through to last 16
World number one Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Championship titles after easing through to the last 16 last night.
Contract conundrum won't distract Reds' title charge
New year, new context. Liverpool will enter 2025 top of the Premier League, a year of seismic change that could have sent them spiralling downwards instead sees them ending on a high.
Gunners edge victory against battling Ipswich
Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Emirates.
'They are erasing us. They are erasing our history'
Indie filmmaker Arfat Sheikh was increasingly frustrated by mainstream cinema’s depiction of Kashmir and its people so he decided to make his own. Maroosha Muzaffar reports
South Korea’s MPs vote to impeach acting president
South Korea's parliament impeached acting president Han Duck Soo yesterday, just two weeks after similarly punishing president Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law earlier this month.
Russian air defence 'likely' behind crash that killed 38
The deadly Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan was likely caused by a Russian air defence system, military and aviation experts have said.
'We cannot wait for peace before beginning to rebuild'
As fears mount for Ukraine's future in light of the re-election of Trump, Tom Watling speaks to politicians, military experts and aid workers to discover what the coming year could hold
Quad bike crash leaves girl with life-changing injuries
A child has been left with life-changing injuries after the quad bike she was riding on crashed into a telegraph pole outside a high-street pub on Boxing Day.
Christmas travel chaos as fog causes mass flight delays
Airline passengers hoping to jet off ahead of the New Year were hit by severe delays, as thick fog caused chaos at the UK's busiest airports.
Snow could sweep through UK as new year approaches
Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures, which are set to fall to -2C on New Year's Eve in some places.
