US Supreme Court Rules Trump Has Broad Immunity From Criminal Prosecution

by | Jul 31, 2024 | Editorials and Opinions, Newsletters

Key Take Aways; Supreme Court Creates “A King Above The Law”; Commentary And Analysis

 “[On July 1] The Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision granting Donald Trump partial immunity from special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case, handing the former president a significant win during his reelection bid.

Though the 6-3 ruling technically allows Smith to inch the prosecution toward resolution, the majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts left many technical questions unresolved – making it increasingly unlikely that a trial can get underway before the November election.

[Roberts wrote for the conservative majority:]

“The President is not above the law. … But 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.  That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office. … A president inclined to take one course of action based on the public interest may instead opt for another, apprehensive that criminal penalties may befall him upon his departure from office. … But Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution.”

Smith’s case now returns to lower courts, which must review the specific steps Trump took to overturn the results of the 2020 election and whether those actions were official, and therefore receive immunity, or private, and do not.

TRUMP GOT A BIGGER WIN THAN EXPECTED

In several key respects, Trump got what he wanted from the 6-3 court – and more.

For starters, the Supreme Court ruled that for “core” presidential activity, Trump has the absolute immunity he had sought. The majority said that Trump’s conversations with the Justice Department – his efforts to try to get officials on board with his effort to overturn the election – were covered with absolute immunity.

For other official actions and more routine powers held by the president, the court said there is at least some immunity and it largely deferred to lower courts to sort that out. That’s a process that could take weeks or even months.

The analysis about what’s immune and what isn’t “ultimately is best left to the lower courts to perform,” Roberts wrote.

Perhaps even more important, the majority made clear that official acts cannot be considered at all as evidence in a potential trial, which could make it much harder for Smith to prevail.

Roberts also wrote that the lower courts may not consider a former president’s motive, which may allow Trump’s attorneys to argue that the he wasn’t attempting to overturn an election in his favor at all.

“The opinion found Trump is “absolutely immune” from prosecution for alleged conduct involving discussions with the Justice Department. Trump is also “at least presumptively immune” from allegations that he tried to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral vote win on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors can try to make the case that Trump’s pressure on Pence still can be part of the case against him, Roberts wrote.

The court directed a fact-finding analysis on one of the more striking allegations in the indictment — that Trump participated in a scheme to enlist fake electors in battleground states won by Biden who would falsely assert that Trump had won. Both sides had dramatically different interpretations as to whether that effort could be construed as official, and the conservative justices said determining which side is correct would require additional analysis at the trial court level.

Roberts’ opinion further restricted prosecutors by prohibiting them from using any official acts as evidence in trying to prove a president’s unofficial actions violated the law. One example not relevant to this case but which came up in arguments was the hypothetical payment of a bribe in return for an ambassadorial appointment.”

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FEDERAL CASE AGAINST TRUMP?

With the justices giving the lower courts some limited guidance, the next steps are likely to be more hearings, written arguments and even proceedings with witness testimony and debates over evidence before US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, DC. Those are likely to come in the days after the Supreme Court hands the opinion down formally to the federal courts in DC. The mechanism for sending a case back down usually takes about as long as a month, but the high court could act more quickly. Once Chutkan works through the legal issues, it’s possible that more appeals of her preliminary decisions could put the case on hold again – adding in significant delay.

ONE LOSS FOR TRUMP: IMPEACHMENT ISN’T A LEGAL SHIELD

Trump has also argued that he should be immune from prosecution since he was previously impeached and acquitted by the Senate, therefore creating a double jeopardy situation. But in one rare win for the special counsel, the court said that argument had no merit.

Addressing Trump’s claims, Roberts wrote that a president who evades impeachment for one reason or another, such as by resigning from office before an impeachment proceeding got underway, would “never be held accountable for his criminal acts.” Roberts wrote:

“Impeachment is a political process by which Congress can remove a president.  Transforming that political process into a necessary step in the enforcement of criminal law finds little support in the text of the constitution or the structure of our government”  

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

With this landmark presidential immunity decision by the United States Supreme Court, the Trump 6 Supreme Court disciples of John G. Roberts, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett continue do whatever they can to ensure his election over President Joe Biden and that his criminal trials are delayed.  The 6 do so at the expense of our democracy and our criminal justice system.  All six know full well that no on is above the law, yet they have now carved out an exception to benefit Donald Trump. They know if the two federal criminal cases proceed to trial after the election, and he is elected, he will order the Justice Department to simply dismiss the cases or simply pardon himself.

The 6 appointed Republican Justices have already made a profound difference with their right wing Republican Judicial Activism. The 6 Republican United State Supreme Court Justices have issued 6 major decisions that confirm it has become a far right wing activist court. As the saying goes, elections have consequences. The 2024 presidential election is again shaping up to be one of the most consequential elections in our history where Supreme Court decisions will be on the ballot as well as the control of congress, not to mention our basic right to vote in an election and the Presidency.

A story has been told and retold about founding father Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when someone shouted out, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Franklin supposedly responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

What we have now is a Republican “politcal judicial monarchy” consisting of 6 conservative Republican Justices all dressed up in their black ropes with gavels replacing scepters and a courtroom replacing a royal thrown room as they render their decrees of justice to carry out the will of Der Führer Trump and his Trump Republican Party.

Excerpted from Pete Dinelli’s Blog of July 2, 2024

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