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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump has immunity for official actions taken while in office.
In a 6-3 ruling delivered on Monday, the majority decision dismissed the verdict of the lower court on the criminal charges filed against Trump over his conduct after the 2020 elections.
The six judges, who were nominated by Republican presidents, ruled that former US presidents have immunity against actions taken while in office but not unofficial actions.
According to Reuters, the court analysed Trump’s indictment into four categories: discussions with justice department officials after the 2020 election; alleged pressure on then Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of Biden’s election win; alleged role in assembling fake pro-Trump electors; and conduct about an attack on the US Capitol.
The justices ruled that Trump has immunity over conversations with US justice department officials and presumed immunity over conversations with Pence, but returned the case to the lower courts to determine the immunity of the other two categories.
The judgement written by Chief Justice John Roberts, threw out a lower court’s decision that had rejected Trump’s claim of immunity from federal criminal charges involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The six conservative justices were in the majority. Its three liberals dissented.
“We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power requires that former president have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his tenure in office.
“Immunity for former presidents is “absolute” with respect to their “core constitutional powers,” Roberts wrote, and a former president has “at least a presumptive immunity” for “acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility,” meaning that prosecutors face a high legal bar to overcome that presumption.
“As for a president’s unofficial acts, there is no immunity,” Roberts said.
The six conservative majority that delivered yhe judgement includes three justices Trump appointed.
Trump hailed the ruling in a social media post, writing: “BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 election in a 2020 rematch.
The Supreme Court’s slow handling of the case, coupled with its decision to return key questions about the scope of Trump’s immunity to the lower courts to resolve, make it improbable he will be tried on federal election subversion brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith charges before the election.
In 2021, Trump supporters breached police lines and stormed the US Capitol Hill building while Congress was sitting to verify then-President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The police said four people died and at least 14 of their personnel were injured. Over 50 people were arrested. Some of the rioters have been sentenced to prison.
Trump had promised to pardon most or all of the rioters if he is re-elected president in 2024.
In December 2022, the January 6 committee voted to refer Trump to the department of justice (DOJ) for at least four criminal charges.
The committee is a select panel from the United States House of Representatives, to investigate the January 6 invasion of the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
