The U.S. Supreme Court met for a final day of opinions on Monday and issued a blockbuster decision -- ruling that former president Donald Trump may claim immunity from criminal prosecution for some actions taken while in the White House.
In a historic 6-3 ruling, the justices for the first time established that former presidents can be shielded from prosecution for at least some of what they do in the Oval Office, The Associated Press reported. The court ruled that former presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for exercising their core constitutional powers, and at least presumptive immunity for other official acts.
However, not every act taken by a president is considered an official action. In that vein, the justices have ordered lower courts to figure out how to apply the decision to Trump's case rather than do it themselves, per the AP. The outcome means an additional delay before Trump could face trial -- if at all.
"Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power entitles a former president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling. "And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts."
"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," Roberts added. "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."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a blistering dissent, writing, "In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”
"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," Sotomayor added.
Shortly after the decision was released, Trump posted on his Truth Social account: "BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"
Trump is claiming immunity to try to quash the federal election subversion prosecution brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Smith charged Trump with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, over his efforts to hold onto power after his 2020 election loss.
Trump pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing. He claims he is free from legal burdens over his actions on and around Jan. 6, 2021, because he was operating in an official capacity.
"The Trump argument is that the only check on presidential criminality is the impeachment power, and only after a president is impeached and convicted by the Senate can he be prosecuted for anything he does in office. And that obviously did not happen in the case of Donald Trump. He was impeached but not convicted by the Senate," ABC News National Correspondent Stephen Portnoy told KYW. "And then there's the idea that the president should just be immune, in many respects, for all the things he does as president. But how far do you take that?"
Smith has argued that the acts Trump is charged with -- including participating in a scheme to enlist fake electors in battleground states won by President Joe Biden -- are in no way part of a president's official duties.
The trial was set to start March 4 but has been delayed while the immunity question has gone back and forth between courts.
Lower courts have flatly rejected Trump's arguments. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan noted that the office of the presidency does not come with a "lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass." A federal appeals panel upheld Chutkan's ruling in February, saying that "former President Trump has become citizen Trump," for the purposes of the case an that "any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution."
What happens now? The matter will be sent back down to lower courts to determine if Trump's actions on Jan. 6th count as official or unofficial.
If a trial does not take place before the 2024 election and Trump is not given another four years in the White House, he presumably would stand trial soon thereafter, according to the AP. If Trump wins the election, "he could appoint an attorney general who would seek the dismissal of this case and the other federal prosecution he faces. He could also attempt to pardon himself if he reclaims the White House."