by Steven Richards
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that former President Donald Trump is immune from federal prosecution for official acts he took while in office in split 6-3 ruling. However, the court ruled that there is no immunity for unofficial acts.
This ruling, written by Chief Justice Roberts – may undermine Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution against Trump in Washington, D.C. for his actions on January 6 and will likely cause further delays as the lower court will now have to determine what acts alleged in his indictment constitute official or private acts before the case can move forward.
This is the first time the Supreme Court has ever considered whether a president can be criminally liable for actions taken while in office.
Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump last August on four counts related to his conduct on January 6, including a conspiracy to defraud the United States, a conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding, and a conspiracy against the right to vote, a civil rights offense.
In April, Trump argued that the president should enjoy absolute immunity for any official acts while in office and that the immunity would continue to apply after a president left office for those actions. Therefore, the president’s actions on January 6 would be covered under the definition.
In October, Trump asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan who is overseeing the trial to dismiss the case on these grounds, but she rejected the argument.
An appeals court ruled the same in February, saying for the purposes of the case, “former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the Associated Press reported. This decision propelled the case to the high court.
The federal case against the former president has been delayed while the court deliberated.
– – –
Steven joined Just the News in August 2023 after previously working as a Research Analyst for the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) in Tallahassee, Florida.
