In an unprecedented legal battle, the Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on whether former President Donald Trump can claim sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office.
The core of the argument centers on the potential for a sitting president to commit crimes without the fear of indictment, raising concerns among the justices about the potential abuse of power. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, highlighting the gravity of the issue, questioned the deterrents against turning the Oval Office into a hub of criminal activity.
“Once we say ‘no criminal liability, Mr President. You can do whatever you want,’ I’m worried we would have a worse problem than the problem of the president feeling constrained to follow the law while he’s in office,” Jackson said of the concern that presidents could be hounded once out of office.
The conservative justices of the supreme court seemed to believe that there should be some immunity for certain aspects of the presidency, such as issuing pardons and having veto power, as these “core functions” cannot be regulated by Congress and therefore criminal statutes should not apply.
Michael Dreeben, representing the special counsel’s office, acknowledged that the “core functions” could not be prosecuted. Justice Neil Gorsuch stated that this implied there was some immunity.
Although conservative justices Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett seemed inclined towards a remand at times, the liberal justices strongly criticized their colleagues’ stance on providing presidential immunity at all.
Alito’s argument that the possibility of a criminal trial would deter presidents from peacefully exiting office at the end of their term was also ridiculed by Justice Sonya Sotomayor.“A stable democratic society,” she said, “needs the good faith of its public officials.”
Relevant articles:
– Trump Lawyer Says Having Political Rival Killed Could Constitute ‘Official’ Presidential Act | The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday on the former president’s bid to secure sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution, rollingstone.com, 04/26/2024
– Supreme Court will decide if Trump has immunity in election case, The Associated Press, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:51:00 GMT
– The Latest: Supreme Court arguments conclude in Trump immunity case, Dayton Daily News, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:21:15 GMT
– US supreme court eyes returning Trump immunity claim to lower court after arguments, The Guardian US, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 10:00:00 GMT
– The Latest: Supreme Court arguments conclude in Trump immunity case, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:11:15 GMT