Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said Sunday that he believes presidents have legal immunity for actions they commit while in the White House, but he declined to go so far as to say President Biden should not be prosecuted for unspecified criminal activities.
Vance, considered one of the finalists to be former President Trump’s vice presidential nominee, predicted in a CBS “Face the Nation” interview with Margaret Brennan that the Supreme Court will likely find Trump immune from criminal prosecution in a ruling expected Monday.
“I want people who commit crimes to face the appropriate legal response,” Vance said. “The problem I have, Margaret, is not knowing which Democrats should sue which Republican and vice versa; let’s stop prosecuting people based on their policies.”
When asked whether this idea prevented Biden from being prosecuted in the future, Vance said the decision would be up to a future attorney general.
“But Donald Trump hasn’t said he’s trying to put his political opponent in prison,” the senator added.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to seek “revenge” against his political opponents if re-elected, and infamously called for rivals like Hillary Clinton to be “locked up.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Monday whether Trump is immune from criminal prosecution as he faces a case over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and actions surrounding the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Vance predicted the court will rule that Trump cannot stand trial.
“I’m very confident that the fundamental principle here is that the president should be able to do his job in the same way that police officers, judges, prosecutors enjoy some immunity, that principle should also apply to the president,” he said. he said.
No president had ever been accused of a crime before Trump, which makes the concept of immunity new.
Vance said the concept of presidential immunity is necessary for the job, an argument shared by Trump’s legal defense.
“We know the president needs immunity to do his job,” Vance said. “Should Barack Obama be prosecuted for drone-dropping American citizens in Yemen? There are so many examples of presidents – Democratic and Republican – who would not be able to perform their duties if the Supreme Court did not recognize some broad element of presidential discretion.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
