The Supreme Court ruled Monday morning that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office.
The Court sent the ruling back down to a lower court, after the justices did not determine if Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“Now if an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possible nullity after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent,” Justice Samuel Alito said of charging a former president.
The case came from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal election interference case in which he charged former President Trump with “conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.”
The charges originated from Smith’s months-long investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued in the case that he should be immune from prosecution from official acts done as president of the U.S.
“This will have huge implications for the presidency,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said.
“I’m not talking about the present, so I’m talking about the future,” he continued.
