The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared ready today to rule that former presidents should have some degree of immunity from criminal prosecution.
Such a decision, while effectively rejecting Donald Trump’s assertion of absolute immunity, could narrow the scope of the federal criminal case accusing Trump of plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
They agreed with the liberal justices mainly about the significance of their decision, which is expected in late June or early July: “We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said.
Many of the justices seemed to be considering the idea that presidents should enjoy some form of protection against criminal prosecution.
But the liberal justices voiced concern that by offering presidents a shield from prosecution, the court could turn the Oval Office into a “seat of criminality,” as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson described it.
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Donald Trump’s, Trump, “, ”, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson