WASHINGTON – O Supreme Court on Monday extended the delay in Washington’s criminal case against Donald Trump on charges he conspired to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential electionalmost ending the prospects of the former president being tried before the November elections.
In a historic 6-3 decision, the judges said for the first time that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts. But instead of doing so themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to figure out precisely how to apply the ruling to Trump’s case.
The outcome means an additional delay before Trump can stand trial in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
The court’s decision in a second major Trump case this term, along with its ruling rejecting efforts to prevent him from voting due to their actions following the 2020 election, it underscores the direct and possibly uncomfortable role that judges are playing in the November election.
“Under our constitutional framework of separate powers, the nature of presidential power confers on a former president absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court. at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
Roberts was joined by the other five conservative justices. The three liberal justices disagreed.
“Today’s decision to grant criminal immunity to former presidents reshapes the institution of the presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, fundamental to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a scathing dissent.
Sotomayor, who read a summary of her dissent aloud in the courtroom, said the protection afforded presidents by the court “is as bad as it gets, and it is baseless.”
The decision was the last of the term and came more than two months after the court had heard arguments, much more slowly than in other epic high court cases involving the presidency, including the case of the Watergate tapes.
The former Republican president denied having done anything wrong and said that this accusation and three others are politically motivated to try to prevent him from returning to the White House.
In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime, in a New York courtroom. He was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a secret payment made during the 2016 presidential election to a porn star who says he had sex with him, which he denies. He still faces three other charges.
Smith is leading the former president’s two federal investigations, both of which resulted in criminal charges. The Washington case centers on Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. The case in Florida revolves around the misuse of confidential documents. The other case, in Georgia, also revolves around Trump’s actions after his 2020 defeat.
If Trump’s trial in Washington does not take place before the 2024 election and he is not given another four years in the White House, he will presumably be tried shortly thereafter.
But if he wins, he could appoint an attorney general who will seek to dismiss this case and other federal lawsuits he faces. He could also try to pardon himself if he regains the White House. He was unable to forgive himself for his conviction in New York state court.
The Supreme Court that heard the case included three Trump-appointed justices — Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — and two justices who chose not to step aside after questions were raised about their impartiality.
Wife of Judge Clarence Thomas, Ginniattended the rally near the White House where Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, although she did not go to the Capitol when a crowd of Trump supporters attacked soon after. After the 2020 election, she called it a “heist” and exchanged messages with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging him to stand firm with Trump as he falsely claimed there was widespread voter fraud.
Justice Samuel Alito said there was There’s no reason for him to walk away of the cases following reports from The New York Times that flags similar to those carried by the Jan. 6 protesters were flown over their homes in Virginia and the New Jersey shore. His wife, Martha-Ann Alito, was responsible for raising the inverted American flag in January 2021 and the “Appeal to Heaven” flag in the summer of 2023, he said in letters to Democratic lawmakers in response to their demands to opt out.
Trump’s trial was scheduled to begin March 4, but that was before he requested court-sanctioned delays and a full review of the matter by the nation’s highest court.
Before the Supreme Court got involved, a trial judge and a three-judge appellate panel ruled unanimously that Trump can be prosecuted for actions taken while in the White House and in the period leading up to January 6.
“For purposes of this criminal proceeding, former President Trump has become a Trump citizen, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the appeals court wrote in February. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while serving as president no longer protects him against this charge.”
US District Judge Tanya Chutkanwho would preside over the trial in Washington, ruled against Trump’s immunity claim in December. In his ruling, Chutkan said the president’s office “does not grant a lifetime ‘get out of jail free’ pass.”
“Former presidents do not enjoy special conditions regarding their federal criminal responsibility,” Chutkan wrote. “The defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction and punishment for any criminal acts committed while in office.”
