Source: Trump has partial immunity from prosecution, Supreme Court rules
The US Supreme Court has said Donald Trump and other former presidents are partially immune from criminal prosecution, in a ruling that he immediately hailed as a “big win”.
The justices found 6-3 that a president does have immunity for “official acts” taken in office, but he is not immune for “unofficial acts”.
The court’s majority said it was for the trial judge to work out which allegations constitute official acts in the indictment, under which Trump is charged with plotting to overturn the 2020 election.
The three liberal justices dissented strongly.
“The President is now a king above the law,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, expressing “fear for our democracy”.
The decision makes it less likely that the Republican presidential candidate will stand trial in the case before he challenges Democratic President Joe Biden November’s White House election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who filed the indictment, declined to comment on Monday’s hotly anticipated decision.
Trump had argued that he was entitled to absolute immunity from the charges, but two lower courts rejected that claim.
The majority opinion by the highest court in the land tossed out or placed a question mark over key elements of the indictment.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that a president’s discussions with the Department of Justice are official acts of the presidency, and he or she is therefore “absolutely immune” from prosecution for such interactions.
The indictment alleges Trump pressured the law-enforcement agency to investigate claims – which were found to be unsubstantiated – that widespread fraud had affected the election result.
Justice Roberts also wrote that a president’s discussions with his vice-president are also official conduct, and Trump is therefore “at least presumptively immune” from allegations that he tried to pressure Mike Pence not to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
美国最高法院表示，唐纳德·特朗普和其他前总统部分免受刑事起诉，他立即称赞这一裁决是“重大胜利”。 法官们以 6-3 的比例裁定，总统确实对就职期间采取的“官方行为”享有豁免权，但他对“非官方行为”却不能享有豁免权。 法院多数法官表示，应由初审法官确定哪些指控构成起诉书中的官方行为，根据起诉书，特朗普被指控密谋推翻 2020 年大选。 三位自由派法官强烈反对。 “总统现在是凌驾于法律之上的国王，”法官索尼娅·索托马约尔写道，表达了“对我们民主的担忧”。 这一决定使得这位共和党总统候选人在挑战民主党总统乔·拜登11月的白宫选举之前接受此案审判的可能性较小。 提出起诉书的特别检察官杰克·史密斯拒绝对周一备受期待的决定发表评论。 特朗普曾辩称，他有权获得绝对的指控豁免权，但两个下级法院驳回了这一主张。 美国最高法院的多数意见驳回了起诉书的关键内容，或者对起诉书的关键内容打了问号。 首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨写道，总统与司法部的讨论是总统的正式行为，因此他或她“绝对免于”因此类互动而受到起诉。 起诉书称，特朗普向执法机构施压，要求其调查未经证实普遍存在的欺诈行为影响了选举结果的说法。 罗伯茨法官还写道，总统与副总统的讨论也是官方行为，因此特朗普“至少可以免受”有关他试图向迈克·彭斯施压不要认证乔·拜登在 2020 年大选中获胜的指控。
