READ: The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Donald Trump's immunity case – Atlanta News First
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers. The court also ruled former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts.
In a historic 6-3 ruling, the justices said for the first time that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts. But rather than do it themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to figure out precisely how to apply the decision to Trump’s case.
“We therefore remand to the District Court to determine in the first instance whether this alleged conduct is official or unofficial,” the court said. “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.”
The outcome means additional delay before Trump could face trial in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
But the ruling could also have consequences for Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ case against the nation’s 45th president in his alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, an election that saw Joe Biden become the first Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1992 to carry Georgia or any other deep Southern state in a presidential contest.
“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power entitles a former president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court. “And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
Roberts was joined by the other five conservative justices. The three liberal justices dissented.
“Today’s decision to grant former presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a scathing dissent.
Sotomayor, who read a summary of her dissent aloud in the courtroom, said the protection afforded presidents by the court “is just as bad as it sounds, and it is baseless.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Donald Trump’s Ga. indictment will be impacted by Monday’s SCOTUS ruling
Delaying the start of trials has been a primary goal of Trump’s lawyers in all four criminal cases against him. Only one trial has been held and it resulted in his conviction for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made during the 2016 presidential election to a porn actor who says she had sex with him, which he denies. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
The Georgia Court of Appeals put a stay on all proceedings in the Fulton County election interference case involving Trump and his GOP allies.
A stay means that all hearings, arguments, rulings and other matters are on hold until the court of appeals rules on matters it is currently hearing, including whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case. The court is also reviewing an appeal for charges dropped in the election interference case.
In August 2023, Willis indicted Donald Trump and 17 of his GOP allies on charges they engaged in an organized crime-like conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. Four of those 18 originally indicted have already reached plea deals with Willis’ office.
But in early January, a series of explosive allegations surfaced when Michael Roman, one of Trump’s co-defendants, and Ashleigh Merchant, Roman’s attorney, accused Willis and then-special prosecutor Nathan Wade of having an improper relationship. Both Willis and Wade have since acknowledged a romantic relationship.
The allegations that Willis had improperly benefited from her romance with Wade upended the case for weeks. Intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court in mid-February.
In March, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee – who has drawn the case – rejected defense efforts to remove Willis and her office over her romantic relationship with Wade, but he did give the defendants permission to seek a review of his decision from the appeals court. In his ruling, McAfee wrote Willis must remove Wade from the racketeering indictment if she were to remain on the case.
Wade resigned just hours after that ruling.
On April 1, Trump and several of his remaining co-defendants formally appealed McAfee’s ruling allowing Willis to remain on the case. That appeal came after McAfee gave the green light to allow such an appeal over his decision. The appeal was signed by all of the attorneys representing the remaining co-defendants who have not already settled the case in Fulton County Superior Court.
The Georgia Court of Appeals’ docket for case number A24I0160, also known as DONALD JOHN TRUMP ET AL V. THE STATE, said the appeal will be heard during the court’s August 2024 term. Per the court’s website, all cases docketed to this term must be decided by March 14, 2025.
The August term ends on Nov. 18, 2024. The court’s argument calendar for August, September and October does not yet list a date for Trump’s appeal.
Both Biden and Trump are the respective, presumptive Democratic and GOP nominees for president, setting the stage for an historic rematch of their 2020 campaigns. They have been polling well within the margins of error for every poll thus far in the election season, making Georgia a virtual toss-up.
In 2020, Biden won Georgia by less than 12,000 votes.
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