The Supreme Court made a historic ruling on Monday, stating that former presidents are immune from prosecution for their “official actions” while exercising their constitutional powers. This decision grants former President Donald Trump partial immunity in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection case.
By a 6 to 3 vote, the conservative-leaning court, which includes three Trump appointees, reduced the charges against him and sent the case back to the trial court to assess the remaining aspects of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment.
The three liberal judges, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented from the ruling in a 30-page dissent saying that President Trump’s immunity for official acts “completely insulate[s] presidents from criminal liability.”
“The relationship between the president and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably,” she said. “In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law.”
Moreover, many critics and analyses have been made since the ruling. Elliot Williams, a former federal prosecutor, said: “They gave the president far more immunity than I think many of us had predicted.. and I think what’s even more notable here is the number of questions they left open..”
It is likely to ensure that the federal criminal case stemming from his actions around Jan. 6 will not go to trial before November’s election.
