At a crucial crossroads for American democracy, the Supreme Court slow walks Trump’s immunity issue

With the Supreme Court granting certiorari to Donald Trump on his immunity claims regarding the January 6th trial in Washington, we have reached a historic moment. The high court will now review the lower court ruling that a former president isn’t immune from prosecution for crimes he committed in office. but not until April. If the court agrees with Trumphim, it could lead America down a dark road.

Yes, broadly exposing the president to lawsuits or prosecutions for the thousands of judgment calls a president makes in the line of duty would cripple the presidency. But no one prosecuting Trump claims presidents should be broadly exposed to liability for their official decisions. Instead, the issue is framed by the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Nixon v. Fitzgerald. It held that the president is immune from damages liability “for acts within ‘the outer perimeter’ of his official responsibility.” The court has never extended that limitation to the president’s responsibility for a crime. Moreover, the court has never suggested that a president who commits a crime unconnected to his official duties enjoys any immunity at all.

    • Optional
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      129 months ago

      If it makes you feel better, businessinsider will steal it and publish it wholesale without attribution. It’ll run next to a trump-sympathetic article. See? Both sides.

      • Shake747
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        -79 months ago

        Yeah hah, probably. I just think the amount of people discussing/up-voting a tabloid article is hilarious

        Marketing: 1 The people: 0

    • @Anamnesis@lemmy.world
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      89 months ago

      Do you realize that this is commentary, not news? It’s supposed to be offering opinion. That’s the whole point.