(NewsNation) — The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider the question of whether former President Donald Trump can face criminal prosecution for his actions in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, marking a pivotal moment in legal and political history as it tests the boundaries of presidential immunity.
The court’s decision effectively pauses Trump’s impending criminal trial proceedings related to the events of January 6. However, the move also keeps alive the possibility for Trump’s prosecution to proceed to a trial before the 2024 presidential election.
“I think what President Trump did does not meet any definition of criminal conduct,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a Wednesday interview on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
Cruz believes Trump’s actions were within the bounds of his presidential authority. He expressed concerns over what he perceives as an abuse of power by Democratic prosecutors targeting Trump. Cruz condemned the indictments against Trump as politically motivated assaults rather than genuine legal proceedings.
“We’ve never in our history had a president or former president indicted,” Cruz said. “The past year, Donald Trump has been indicted four different times. … I very much hope that the Supreme Court puts a stop to it.”
Addressing questions about the potential outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Cruz expressed confidence that the court would likely reverse previous decisions, including the Colorado case where Trump was removed from the ballot.
“Should the presidency be decided by a rogue prosecutor abusing power, or should the presidency be decided by the voters? And I’ll tell you on that question, I’m emphatically with the voters on that one,” Cruz remarked.
The interview also touched on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement he’s stepping down from his leadership position.
Cruz, a vocal critic of McConnell in the past, expressed respect for the outgoing leader’s service. Notably, Cruz highlighted McConnell’s legacy of nominating and confirming numerous constitutionalists to the federal judiciary as his most consequential achievement.
However, the conversation took a sharp turn when Cruz was questioned about his recent vote to block aid to Ukraine, despite his prior vocal support for such assistance. Cruz attributed the shift to a Republican stance demanding border security measures in exchange for funding for Ukraine, citing escalating issues at the southern border.
“It was a terrible bill. That bill would have made the problem worse. Why? What does it do? It codifies Joe Biden’s open borders,” Cruz said. “It also provided taxpayer-funded lawyers to illegal immigrants and also, on top of that, gave immediate work permits to illegal immigrants.”
Cruz argued that the proposed legislation would exacerbate existing problems by perpetuating open borders policies and providing incentives for illegal immigration.
Challenged on the Border Patrol union’s support for the bill, Cruz redirected attention to a different legislative proposal, HR 2, which he claimed would provide more effective border security measures.
Cruz accused Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, of obstructing meaningful border security legislation, attributing it to a broader Democratic agenda that allegedly disregards the consequences of lax immigration policies.
