US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity from prosecution

The US Supreme Court has ruled that presidents who have left high office have a certain degree of immunity from prosecution. This was a major victory for Donald Trump. The court's decision undermines the case against Trump for 2020 election fraud. There are no prospects for a judicial investigation before the presidential race, writes The Guardian.

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The court's conservative majority, backed by Trump, ruled by a 6-to-3 margin that presidents are protected from prosecution for official actions that fall within the "outer perimeter" of their powers but can be held accountable for unofficial actions.

Trump is accused of orchestrating a massive effort to undermine the 2020 election. The charges include conspiring to disrupt the presidential election.

Trump is accused of spreading false claims of election fraud, attempting to manipulate fraudulent voter rolls, and pressuring U.S. Justice Department officials to launch bogus investigations into election fraud. He is also accused of pressuring his Vice President Mike Pence to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory.

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To determine whether Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were official acts, the Supreme Court sent the case back to U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is tasked with reviewing the indictment line by line.

The analysis will be based on a three-part test: whether a particular act is a core presidential function carrying absolute immunity, an official act within the outer perimeter of the presidency carrying presumptive immunity, or an unofficial act carrying no immunity.

To overturn presumptive immunity, the court said, Chutkan would have to decide whether bringing charges against Trump would create a “threat of interference with the powers and functions of the executive branch.”

The court left the analysis to Chutkan's discretion. But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, determined early on that Trump's interactions with Justice Department officials were official acts because they are part of the executive branch and report to the president.

According to Roberts, Trump's interactions with Pence carried presumptive immunity because discussing duties with the vice president is an official act. And the need to prove the opposite, he believes, lies with prosecutors.

As for Trump's remarks on January 6, Roberts said they are also likely protected because speech is an integral function of the president. However, it is conceivable that in the case of Trump, his speech could be classified not as a speech by the president, but as a speech by a presidential candidate.

The most difficult part of the decision for prosecutors will be prohibiting the use as evidence at trial of any actions recognized as official. Prosecutors had hoped they could present official actions as evidence of Trump's intentions.

The decision was one of the last handed down by the Supreme Court this term, after which the court will recess until October. The conservative majority played into the hands of Trump and his strategy to delay the trial as much as possible.

The court's decision in March to keep Trump's name on the ballot has already drawn sharp criticism from liberals and others who believe Trump's case should be decided before voters cast ballots in the upcoming election.

The strategy for Trump's defense in all federal criminal cases (he is accused in Florida of illegal possession of classified documents) is to drag them out until the election. That is, Trump hopes that he will be re-elected and he will be able to appoint his supporter to the post of Attorney General, who will drop all charges.

Last October, Trump filed a motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds that he has absolute immunity from prosecution. When Chutkan denied the motion, Trump appealed her Dec. 8 decision to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The appeal automatically put the trial on hold because if Trump wins his claim to immunity, it will bar any prosecution.

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The election-fraud trial cannot begin until Sept. 20 because Trump's lawyers have 88 days left to prepare a defense after the case was automatically frozen during an immunity appeal.

Trump celebrated the decision at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. His Truth Social platform featured a statement in all caps: “A big win for our Constitution and democracy! I'm proud to be an American!"

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