Former President Trump is celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision Monday that ruled former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
“BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social minutes after the decision was released.
The Supreme Court delivered a major win to the former president, sending the federal case connected to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election back to a lower court to determine whether his actions meet the qualifications for immunity protection.
Trump and his legal team have argued that he should be immune from criminal prosecution related to actions he took while in office. In a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, the high court ruled Trump has wide immunity when it comes to official acts he took in office.
“At least with respect to the president’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute. As for his remaining official actions, he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion.
The opinion noted later on that there is “no immunity for unofficial acts.”
This decision will send the federal election interference case back to district court, where proceedings have been paused while the Supreme Court weighed Trump’s immunity claims. Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, will now need to rule on the matter for the second time, as well as other arguments by Trump to toss the case.