The Supreme Court’s decision, expected by around the end of June, might have an impact on some of the charges brought once morest Trump.
An overview of the immunity question:
- Trump’s delaying tactics:
The fact that the Supreme Court is even addressing the issue of immunity is already a success for Trump. In doing so, he achieved that the criminal trial in a federal court in Washington was suspended, which concerns the massive interventions with which he wanted to tilt the outcome of the 2020 election in his favor, as well as his role in the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 . This process was supposed to start on March 4th. There is no new date as the highest court decision on immunity is awaited.
The Republican Trump, who wants to run once more once morest the Democrat Joe Biden in the November election, is relying on delaying tactics in his legal disputes. In doing so, he wants to ensure that the start of the trials or at least the verdicts are delayed until following the election.
Also read: Loss of control: Trump sees the procedure itself as a punishment (OÖNplus)
However, the judge in Trump’s New York trial on a hush money affair was unimpressed by the immunity request and allowed the legal proceedings to begin last week. However, this case is considered the least serious of the four criminal charges once morest Trump.
In the case before the Georgia state judiciary, which also involves allegations of election manipulation, the public prosecutor’s office has requested that the trial begin on August 5th. However, this case might also be influenced by the immunity decision, as might the federal judiciary’s indictment once morest Trump for taking secret government documents to his private estate in Florida. Here too, it is unclear when the process might start.
- The arguments for and once morest immunity:
In Trump’s opinion, US presidents should be protected from criminal prosecution for almost all of their official actions – during their term in office and followingwards. The presidency cannot maintain its “vital independence” if the incumbent is threatened with criminal prosecution following leaving office, he argues.
Trump is citing a 1982 Supreme Court ruling called “Nixon v. Fitzgerald.” It states that the president is protected from liability for civil damages resulting from his official actions. Trump wants to see this ruling expanded from civil to criminal law.
More on the topic: The crash in Trump shares is depriving many supporters of their savings (OÖNplus)
A key point in the dispute is whether Trump’s handling of the 2020 election results was part of his official actions, as the ex-president argues. This is disputed by special investigator Jack Smith, who sees it as a private approach.
In Trump’s opinion, the prosecution of an ex-president is only permissible if he has been found guilty of the same accusation by the US Senate in a so-called impeachment process. The right-wing populist was acquitted of the charges related to the storming of the Capitol by the Chamber of Congress in February 2021 – shortly following he left office.
The lower courts had rejected Trump’s claims of immunity. In February, a federal appeals court said: “We cannot accept that the Office of the President forever places its former occupants above the law.”
- The possible consequences of the Supreme Court decision:
With the case, the Supreme Court is breaking new ground. The US Constitution makes no statements regarding presidential immunity, and the Supreme Court has never ruled on the prosecution of a US president – which is because Trump is the first criminally charged ex-US president in history.
There is a clear majority of conservative judges on the Supreme Court, three of whom Trump himself nominated. However, this by no means guarantees him success. Experts believe it is unlikely that the constitutional judges will grant him and therefore all presidents “absolute immunity”.
It is possible that the Supreme Court will make a nuanced decision and find that some presidential acts are protected from prosecution and others are not. The Supreme Court might delegate the delimitation in Trump’s case to a lower court.
However, this would also be a success for him – the expected new presidential candidate would have gained more time. It is expected that when Trump returns to the White House, he would instruct the federal judiciary to drop the charges once morest him.
