The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump has some immunity from prosecution as a former president. This decision will likely delay his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
The 6-3 ruling, which split along ideological lines, comes just four months before the presidential election where Trump is the Republican candidate against Democrat Joe Biden.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that while a president is “not above the law,” he does have “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.
“The president may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” Roberts said.
He clarified, “As for a President’s unofficial acts, there is no immunity,” and sent the case back to a lower court to determine which charges involve official or unofficial conduct.
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Previously, both a District Court and a three-judge appeals court panel had rejected Trump’s immunity claims. The District Court will now hold lengthy pre-trial hearings, making a trial before the November election unlikely.
Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding, specifically the January 6, 2021, joint session of Congress to certify Biden’s victory. He also faces charges of conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and have their votes counted.
The court’s decision drew strong dissent from the three liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed her concerns, saying, “Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law.”
She warned, “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”
Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social, calling it a “big win for our Constitution and democracy.”
Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, noted that the ruling will likely prolong the case well beyond the election.
He pointed out that the opinion provides a “roadmap” for a president to avoid prosecution by intertwining actions with official government duties, which could complicate future prosecutions of former presidents.
Trump, facing four criminal cases, has been trying to delay trials until after the election. He was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 campaign, becoming the first former US president ever convicted of a crime. His sentencing is set for July 11.