Is the US President completely immune?
Supreme Court plays into Trump’s hands
By Roland Peters, New York
February 29, 2024, 5:15 a.m
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Donald Trump’s lawyers are making an absurd argument: the US president cannot be punished for anything during his term in office, not even for a hypothetical murder order. Now the Supreme Court wants to rule on this. No matter what the result is, it helps Trump.
The news hit the US media landscape like a bombshell late on Wednesday afternoon local time: The Supreme Court will decide whether and to what extent Donald Trump can be held responsible for his actions in office or whether he enjoys immunity. The Supreme Court’s decision will have enormous implications. This influences several criminal trials against him – and thus also his renewed application for the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump praised the move by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. “A president must be free to make decisions without undue pressure. If there is no immunity, there will be no presidency as we know it,” he claimed. Otherwise a head of state could be blackmailed. “He would be paralyzed by possible unwarranted persecution and revenge.” As president, he brought three of the nine chief justices into office. The obvious counter-argument to Trump’s reaction would be: If a head of state doesn’t have to fear consequences, he has no reason to stick to the rules.
Specifically, it is initially about the insurrection on January 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters stormed the US Congress. They did not want to accept the election defeat against Joe Biden and prevent the certification of the result in the Senate. The public prosecutor’s office and its special prosecutor Jack Smith have therefore charged Trump: with conspiracy to commit election fraud, obstruction of an official procedure and because he is said to have denied US citizens their right to vote.
Criticism of a broadly formulated question
If Trump is convicted, he could go to prison for many years. But now the process has been halted and therefore delayed by at least several months. The Supreme Court hearings – which are to be broadcast live – will take place in the week beginning Monday, April 22nd, and legal opinions can also be submitted until then. According to the Supreme Court, the justices will only consider the question of whether and to what extent a former president “enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct that purports to be official acts.” A verdict is expected by the end of June.
Critical lawyers say the Supreme Court could have, and perhaps even should, have decided long ago whether Trump was immune or not. Smith had already asked for a decision in December. The question that has now been published also opens the door to further delays. After their response, the chief justices could send the case back to another court, which would have to define what of Trump’s conduct counts as an official act and what does not.
According to US media, even Trump’s lawyers do not believe that they can win the case, so Trump will be granted complete immunity. This would mean, for example, that a president could have a political rival assassinated without being held accountable – an absurd argument. Trump’s primary concern is to delay the start of the trial as much as possible.
The November election is getting closer
If the Republican is re-elected to the White House in November, he could ensure that the charges against him are dropped. The prosecution is located in the Department of Justice, which is part of the US government.
The ex-president is trying to pull his head out of the legal noose around his neck by claiming immunity. A lower court in Washington, DC had unanimously and extensively rejected his claims that he could not be prosecuted. The separation of powers would “collapse” as a result, it says. The president would be above the law, much like a monarch used to be.
Instead of confirming this decision, the Supreme Court is now getting involved. Representative Adam Schiff, a harsh critic of Trump for many years, sees a pattern. “He did it before his presidency, during his presidency and after his presidency: justice delayed is justice denied,” the Democrat said on CNN. The closer a possible trial gets to the election in November, the more weight Trump’s argument that the charges are a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him becomes.