Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
The US Supreme Court has decided it’s undecided on Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for his actions while president. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court’s conservative majority, granted Trump a presumption of immunity for “official acts” while leaving him open to prosecution for unofficial ones. Crucially the court left undecided which of Trump’s actions fell into these two categories. The case will now be sent back to a lower court for further research – a process that will probably push any decision on the case beyond the November election. If elected, Trump would probably order the Justice Department to drop the case, meaning the election will decide whether or not he’ll face trial for his actions in relation to the January 6th insurrection. The court’s liberal justices said the ruling made the president a “king above the law”. Joe Biden agreed, warning that the verdict set a “dangerous precedent”. After his conviction on 34 counts in a hush money trial, Trump said “the real verdict is going to be 5 November”. He was right.
