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Supreme Court Rules Trump Has Immunity for Official Acts, Returns Case to Lower Courts in Blow to Jack Smith
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump is immune to criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office, but affirmed that he can be prosecuted for unofficial acts, in a decision that will likely further delay special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of the former president for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts and decided along ideological lines, the Court held that there is a critical distinction between public and private acts taken in office and returned the Trump case to a lower court for additional analysis and fact-finding.
“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts,” Roberts wrote.
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the majority opinion.
“Today’s decision to grant former presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the presidency,” Sotomayor wrote. “It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law.”
