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.
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