The Supreme Court will rule whether former presidents enjoy broad immunity against criminal charges
The Supreme Court will release its final opinions today on whether Trump should be declared immune from prosecution with regard to the “classified documents” case brought against him in Florida by prosecutor Jack Smith.
Trump’s attorneys have argued that former US presidents should enjoy a broad degree of immunity from criminal charges for particular activities while they were in office.
The Supreme Court challenge has brought the “classified documents” case to a halt, and it’s unlikely that there will be a trial before November.
Although lower courts have rejected the Trump legal team’s arguments, a number of Supreme Court Justices appeared to support them during oral hearings in April.
Chief Justice Roberts, for example, questioned the appeals court ruling that rejected Trump’s immunity claims. He said the appeals courts did not make it clear whether it believed the official indictment against Trump was targeting his official or private acts.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that the “classified documents” case “has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country.”
Other Justices, including Elena Kagan, appear to support the prosecution.
“The Framers did not put an immunity clause into the Constitution. They knew how to,” Justice Kagan said.
“And, you know, not so surprising, they were reacting against a monarch who claimed to be above the law. Wasn’t the whole point that the president was not a monarch and the president was not supposed to be above the law?”
Former president Trump has pleased not guilty to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified documents. Prosecutors have alleged that he refused to return documents containing classified information relating to subjects like US nuclear capability.
