Supreme Court ruled that former President Trump cannot be prosecuted for his official acts while in office.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that former President Trump cannot be prosecuted for his official acts while in office, but left the door open slightly for his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
In a 6-3 vote, the justices upheld Trump’s claim that he was immune from all criminal charges related to his official actions while he was in the White House.
The three liberal justices dissented. The majority sent the case back to lower courts to determine whether any of Trump’s actions involving the 2020 presidential election and effort to overturn President Biden’s election were unofficial and therefore subject to prosecution.
The decision is a clear win for Trump. The court’s conservative majority agreed with his claims that an ex-president has a broad immunity from criminal charges. And the case was sent back to a district judge for further hearings that will take many months.
“The president enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the president does is official. The president is not above the law,” said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “But Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution. And the system of separated powers designed by the framers has always demanded an energetic, independent executive. The president therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.”
This outcome all but assures Trump will not face a trial on these charges before the November election.
