In light of the US Supreme Court’s decision that presidents are not prosecuted for official activities, Donald Trump has asked the judge in his New York hush money fraud trial to overturn his conviction and sentence.
The highest court in the United States determined that former presidents have substantial immunity from criminal prosecution. This decision is historic and may have a significant impact on President Trump’s criminal conviction and other ongoing legal proceedings.
In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of fabricating company documents, stemming from an alleged effort by the prosecution to conceal a hush money payment made just before the 2016 presidential election.
Citing the Supreme Court’s decision from Monday, his attorneys wrote the New York judge supervising the jury trial and urged
for a delay in the sentencing to consider the decision.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in the hush money case on July 11.
‘Nightmare scenarios’ made possible by ruling
When the verdict was made public, Trump declared he had achieved a “huge victory,” but the Supreme Court has not made it clear how this decision will impact his ongoing legal issues. Rather, it has left that to be resolved by a lower court.
However, the ruling presents a significant obstacle for the prosecution, who have accused Trump of making illegal measures to void the results of the 2020 election. There is almost little probability that the federal trial will proceed prior to the election on November 5. Trump has won just by virtue of the delay.
Ideological differences caused divisions in the Supreme Court. A majority decision of 6-3 was rendered by three justices nominated by Trump and three additional conservative justices.
However, the remaining three judges of the court cautioned that the ruling would result in “nightmare scenarios” in which presidents could carry out military coups or order political assassinations without fear of prosecution.
The dissenters’ “tone of chilling doom” was rejected by Chief Justice John Roberts, who concluded that presidents enjoyed “absolute immunity” for “official acts” they carried out while in office but “no immunity for unofficial acts.”
What has the court determined in this case?
The Supreme Court has decided that former presidents are shielded from criminal prosecution for part of their actions while in office, but not for all of them, for the first time in history. Basically, they are protected for anything that is part of their official work duties.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the following to explain the majority decision:
What does Trump’s outcome mean?
The case, which was supposed to begin in March of this year, will now be further delayed as a result of the judgment. And it might completely go awry.
There is very little likelihood that it will get to trial before the election on November 5 due to the postponement.
In other words, a lower court will now have to decide whether of Trump’s claimed conduct would have been “official acts” exempt from prosecution and which are not, and which portions of the case can move forward and which should be struck out.
The Supreme Court did not reach that conclusion, but it did provide some very clear instructions.
It concluded that he was completely immune from prosecution during talks with representatives of the Justice Department, essentially dismantling that aspect of the case against him. Additionally, it was discovered that he was “presumptively immune” to Mr. Pence’s encounters.
“There’s no other way to put it—this case is a major win for Donald Trump,” states Claire Wofford, a political scientist at the College of Charleston who specializes in the legal system in the United States.
“What I see, bottom line, is a very narrow path for this prosecution to go forward.”
A solitary justice deviated from the rest, so obstructing the prosecution’s path yet again.
In a separate opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas—who has recently been the center of controversy because to allegations that he has accepted gifts and travel from significant Republican donors—questioned prosecutor Jack Smith’s selection to serve as the “special counsel” overseeing the Trump case.
He maintained that Mr. Smith was merely a “private citizen” because his role was not recognized by the law.
Although none of the other justices agreed with that opinion, it might provide a foundation for a lower court to contest Mr. Smith’s jurisdiction to bring charges against Trump.
What’s the reaction been?
Trump stated that the “brilliantly written and wise” ruling “should end all of Crooked Joe Biden’s witch hunts” in a series of social media messages.
“Many of these fake cases will now disappear, or wither into obscurity,” he said.
Subsequently, in an evening press conference, President Joe Biden criticized the court for establishing a risky precedent that implied “there are virtually no limits on what the president can do”.
“This decision today has continued the court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights, to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation,” the president stated.
What happens now?
Judge Tanya Chetan of the US District Court will hear the case again. She will have to determine which portions of the lawsuit should be rejected and which can remain.
Dr. Wofford issues a warning, saying, “I can say with 100% certainty you’re not going to see a quick resolution of this case in any way, shape, or form.” The timing is not apparent.
According to Dr. Wofford, the judge will have to give both parties a chance to submit their briefs, and they might even have to make an in-person argument in front of her in Washington, DC.
In the event that Trump wins the presidency on November 5, he has promised to nominate radical new figures to every position in the government, including the Justice Department, who would probably the case. He could also potentially pardon himself.
“Come November, if President Trump is re-elected the president of the United States, these charges go away,” Dr Wofford says.
