Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Donald Trump and his allies are celebrating after the Supreme Court ruled that he may have some immunity from prosecution.
In a 6-3 decision released on Monday, the court ruled that former presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecution for “official” actions, meaning that Trump could dodge some charges for his alleged plot to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
However, the court conceded that “not everything the President does is official” and that “the President is not above the law.”
“The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
“Such an immunity is required to safeguard the independence and effective functioning of the Executive Branch, and to enable the President to carry out his constitutional duties without undue caution,” Roberts added.
The ruling means it is unlikely that Trump will face trial for the conspiracy charges, levied against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith, before Election Day or even after the presidential inauguration in January 2025.
Following the ruling, Trump and his MAGA allies celebrated on social media, with the former president describing it as a “big win.”
“BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also joined in on the celebrations. “Solid SCOTUS ruling today. I’m sure the corrupt prosecutors and DC judge will work overtime to continue their lawfare. It’s all they have left,” he wrote on X, referencing baseless claims that the charges against his father were politically motivated.
“A massive win, not just for Trump but the rule of law. I’m still digesting but this may well destroy all of Jack Smith’s case against the president,” Ohio Senator J.D. Vance added.
MAGA firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also chimed in, telling NBC News that the Supreme Court made the “right decision” in Trump’s immunity case. She also said special counsel Jack Smith should be “defunded.”
But while Republicans celebrated the ruling, Democrats despaired, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer quoting Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson’s dissenting opinion from what he described as the “undemocratic” ruling.
“Because our constitution does not shield a former President from answering for criminal and treasonous acts, I dissent,” the justices wrote.
“Faithful to our Founding Fathers’ ideals—this is from Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson’s blistering dissent from this MAGA SCOTUS’ undemocratic ruling,” Schumer said.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand added that Justice Sotomayor’s dissent “should be a warning to every single American.”
“We are a nation founded on the idea that no one is above the law, not even the president. But this MAGA SCOTUS refuses to hold Donald Trump accountable for his actions to undermine our democracy,” she said.
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she plans to file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
“The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control. Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture. I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return,” she wrote on X.
Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights in connection with an alleged pressure campaign against Mike Pence and state officials to reverse the 2020 election results, which culminated in a mob’s violent breach of the Capitol to stop Joe Biden’s victory from being certified by Congress.
Lawyers for Trump appealed the indictment, claiming the former president was acting within his official duties as president and therefore should be immune from criminal prosecution.
Trump claimed he has absolute immunity, largely based on the 1982 Supreme Court case Nixon v Fitzgerald, in which the court found that presidents cannot be sued in civil cases for actions they conducted while in office.
During oral arguments in April, John Sauer, Trump’s attorney, persuaded the justices that the prospect of charges, trial and imprisonment could “distort the president’s decision-making, precisely when bold and fearless action is most needed.”
Sauer said that without protections, the president cannot effectively do his job.
Smith said differently, believing neither Trump — nor any president — is above the law.
Meanwhile, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon reported to federal prison authorities today for a four-month sentence after he was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas to give evidence to the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot on the Capitol.
Outside federal prison he said: “When we investigate [January 6], you’re going see that Donald John Trump was not just completely innocent. He was the one individual that wanted to protect the Capitol and wanted to protect Washington, D.C.”
He also described himself as a “political prisoner” of Nancy Pelosi, Merrick Garland and Joe Biden.
