The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled partially in favor of former President Donald Trump, who claimed total immunity from lawsuits against him.
The high court, by a vote of 6 to 3, ruled that the total immunity applies only to decisions made in the context of his presidential functions and that it cannot apply to criminal acts committed in a private context. “We concluded that under our constitutional structure of separation of powers, the nature of presidential power requires that the former president enjoy a certain immunity from criminal conviction for official acts committed during his term of office,” explains the judgment of the Supreme Court with a conservative majority.
“At least with respect to the president’s exercise of his presidential power, this immunity must be absolute. For the rest of his presidential actions, he is also subject to immunity.”
The former tenant of the White House congratulated himself in a publication on social networks of a “great victory for our Constitution and our democracy”. Donald Trump, who intends to run in the presidential election on November 5, had referred the matter to the Supreme Court in particular regarding the proceedings against him for having attempted to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election, won by his rival Democrat Joe Biden, and for the storming of the Capitol by supporters on January 6, 2021.
The court ruled on four categories of conduct in Donald Trump’s indictment: his discussions with the Justice Department following the 2020 election, his alleged pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, his alleged role in organizing fake pro-Trump supporters and his conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.
The court ruled that Donald Trump has absolute immunity on the issue of discussions with the Justice Department but sent to another court to determine whether the former president is entitled to immunity on the other three categories.
