On Monday the Supreme Court put forth a pivotal ruling, raising the bar for a potential prosection of former Presdient Donald Trump. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump has immunity of some, but maybe not all, of his actions he took while he was president. This could make Trump’s federal election interference case much harder for special counsel Jack Smith to bring to trial.
The judges voted 6 – 3 to reject Trump’s Trump’s broad claim of immunity, in a novel and potentially consequential case on the limits of presidential power. This means that the charges brought against Trump regarding his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results will not be automatically dismissed. However some actions closely related to his core duties as president are off-limits to prosecutors.
Trump responded to the ruling, posting on his Truth Social in his classic all caps style: “Big win for our Constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American,”
Democrats attacked the ruling, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying it “enables the former president to weaken our democracy by breaking the law.”
In the majority ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts said that further proceedings are needed in lower courts to determine exactly what conduct Trump can be prosecuted for.
According to the ruling, Trump is has immunity regarding his contacts with Justice Department officials, and he is “presumptively immune” regarding contacts with former VP Mike Pence leading up to January 6th.
Roberts wrote that: “The president is not above the law,” but continued by saying that “Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution.”
Exactly what effect the ruling today has on Trump’s case remains to be seen. Special counsel Smith’s office declined to comment Monday on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
We know for sure, there will be further proceedings before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine what, if any, of the other conduct alleged in the indictment is protected. Other conduct to consider will include contacts Trump had with people outside the federal government, including state election officials such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump pressured to reject results showing Biden victories.
{Matzav.com}
