Will the Supreme Court Grant Trump 'Absolute Immunity'?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday regarding former President Donald Trump's claim for absolute presidential immunity in relation to charges from his term in office.
The Arguments: Lawyers for Trump argue that his "official acts" while in office should shield him from prosecution, and if they don't, "the threat of future criminal prosecution by a politically opposed Administration will overshadow every future President’s official acts." Special Counsel Jack Smith's team, opposing Trump's claim for immunity argues, "why not take it a step further and tell the court that if Trump has the sort of broad immunity he claims he does, a president would be free to order the assassination of Supreme Court justices who disagree with him, and could not be prosecuted for doing that."
How The Media Covered It: Most sources suggested that Trump's broad immunity claims will fail, but analyzed the possibility of Trump being granted some immunity, and how it may impact the upcoming presidential election. The New York Times (Lean Left) said, "most legal experts do not expect Mr. Trump to prevail on his broadest arguments. But when and how he loses may turn out to be as important as whether he loses." A writer for National Review (Right) said "The way for the Court to act beyond politics and consistent with the rule of law is to strive to decide these questions without regard to their impact on Smith’s ability to complete Trump’s trial before the election."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Absolute immunity? Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump election interference caseThe Supreme Court will take up former President Donald Trump’s “absolute immunity” defense this week, and a favorable ruling could nullify many of the criminal charges against him.
The case is groundbreaking. No other former president has been in Mr. Trump’s situation or asserted protection from prosecution for actions while in office.
Mr. Trump has asked the justices to dismiss a federal indictment accusing him of a conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election. He faces another federal criminal case over his handling of classified documents, a Georgia case over the...
From the Left
Supreme Court to Hear Trump’s Claim to ‘Absolute Immunity’The Supreme Court, in its last argument of the term, will consider on Thursday whether former President Donald J. Trump must face trial on charges that he plotted to subvert the 2020 election.
The court’s answer to that question will be a major statement on the scope of presidential power. Depending on its timing and content, the decision will also help determine whether Mr. Trump’s trial will start before the election, in time to let both jurors and voters evaluate the evidence that Jack Smith, the special counsel in the...
From the Center
Jack Smith 'Hypothetical' Could Turn Trump Immunity Claim Against SCOTUSSpecial Counsel Jack Smith's team should present an extreme "hypothetical" argument against absolute immunity for presidents accused of crimes by suggesting it could be used to target Supreme Court judges, a legal expert has said.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance suggested that the government should argue that if Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed in office, then what is to stop a sitting president from ordering the "assassination of Supreme Court justices who disagree with him" knowing they would not face jail for it.
Joyce made remarks ahead of the April 25 hearing in...
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