Trump wins as Supreme Court undermines January 6 case

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled on his claim for presidential immunity, Donald Trump took to social media to celebrate his victory.

“A great victory for our constitution and our democracy,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I am proud to be an American!”

Even if Trump did not get the broad protections he and his lawyers sought, he got more than enough to achieve his immediate goal of delaying another trial until after the November election.

The decision by the six conservative judges dealt a major blow to the federal criminal case against him on charges of attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith and his team will have to significantly restructure their case against the former president, as well as the evidence they can rely on, if they want to proceed. The trial was suspended pending this decision.

Friday’s 6-3 decision ensures that any lawsuits that arise from the ruling will be delayed well beyond the November presidential election while the lower court considers the Supreme Court’s guidance.

Indeed, the six conservative justices set the bar extremely high for Mr. Smith and his team.

According to the court, Trump enjoys blanket immunity for official acts as president related to his core constitutional duties. That includes communications he had with Justice Department officials about allegations of election fraud. And so that part of the indictment against Trump is effectively dead.

Beyond that, the six judges said there is a presumption of immunity for any other official act. In practical terms, that means prosecutors will have to redouble their efforts to bring charges against Trump.

The Court added, however, that presidents do not enjoy immunity for unofficial acts.

Chief Justice John Roberts, he said, then applied that standard specifically to the former president — a direction that could be particularly damaging to the prosecution in the election interference case.

Trump’s attempts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence not to certify Joe Biden’s election victory — a key part of the Jack Smith case — are the kind of official actions subject to this higher level of legal scrutiny.

The former president’s comments on January 6, 2021, allegedly inciting the attack on the Capitol are also likely to be considered official actions.

The chief justice also said that “testimony or private records of the president or his advisers” are not admissible in court. That severely limits the types of evidence prosecutors can present to support their case, even in cases involving unofficial actions.

At the same time, Trump’s contacts with private citizens will have to be reviewed by the trial court to determine whether they were unofficial actions.

Justice Roberts explained that presidents need such broad immunity for their official actions because the threat of criminal prosecution – and “the particular public opprobrium that attaches to criminal proceedings” – could “distort” the taking presidential decision.

“The president is not above the law,” he wrote. “But Congress cannot criminalize the president’s conduct in the exercise of the executive branch’s responsibilities under the Constitution.”

If the former president and his team celebrated this decision as a victory for American democracy, the three liberal judges present on the court had a very different opinion.

“In every exercise of official power, the president is now a king above the law,” warned Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her opinion disagreeing with the Court’s decision.

She then listed various actions for which presidents could not be prosecuted, such as ordering the assassination of a political rival, accepting bribes in exchange for pardons and staging a coup to retain power.

“Immunity,” she wrote. “Immunity, immunity, immunity.”

“Fearing for our democracy,” she concluded, “I disagree.”

The Supreme Court now sends the election interference case back to the lower court judge, who will have to apply the details of the decision. Those decisions will also be subject to appeal and reconsideration — a process that could take months or even years.

And if Trump wins the presidency in November, his Justice Department appointees could drop the case altogether.