More than two months after hearing oral arguments, the Supreme Court on Monday partially backed former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office. In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled former Presidents are largely immune from prosecution for official acts, but not actions they took in office that aren’t part of their job responsibilities—a decision that will have significant consequences for Trump’s remaining criminal cases and the future of the American presidency.
“Under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts says. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”
The landmark decision marks the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on whether a president can be prosecuted for actions they took while in office. “The president enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official,” the ruling continues. “The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution.”
The Supreme Court offered some specific guidance on the conduct at issue in the criminal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith against Trump over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Roberts wrote for the conservative majority that Trump is “absolutely immune” from prosecution for his alleged conduct relating to conversations with Justice Department officials about launching investigations into election fraud and potential fraudulent slates of electors. But the Supreme Court didn’t offer answers on other conduct alleged in Smith’s indictment, writing that further proceedings at the lower court level are needed to determine whether Trump can be prosecuted for his alleged attempt to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral College vote, and his interactions with state officials, private people, and voters about election fraud and the violence on Jan. 6.
Sending these questions back to a lower court all but guarantees that Trump’s stalled federal trial in Washington, D.C will be delayed until after voters decide in November whether to return Trump to the White House.
“In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the dissenting opinion, joined by the two other liberal Justices. “Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.”
Still, Roberts cautioned, “Trump asserts a far broader immunity than the limited one we have recognized.” The Chief Justice added: “As for the dissents, they strike a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the Court actually does today—conclude that immunity extends to official discussions between the President and his Attorney General,