Trump’s lawyer John Sauer, similarly to the appeals court, faced questions from judges on Thursday about hypothetical scenarios in which the head of state accepts a bribe, sells state secrets or orders a coup or assassination, Reuters wrote.
“Someone will say, ‘I’ll give you a million dollars if I become ambassador to any country,'” said one example, Chief Justice John Roberts. Sauer responded by saying that accepting a bribe was not part of the exercise of the presidency and therefore would not be covered by his interpretation of immunity. “Accepting a bribe is not an official act, but appointing an ambassador is certainly within the official duties of the president,” Roberts replied.
Trump and his team present the theory that a former president cannot be prosecuted for acts falling within the exercise of office, unless he has previously been removed from office for the same acts on the basis of a constitutional lawsuit. At the same time, their official actions include an attempt to block the approval of the results of the 2020 presidential election, after which Trump refused to admit defeat. Because of those efforts, Trump was indicted by a grand jury last year at the suggestion of special counsel Jack Smith.
The Supreme Court has not yet dealt with such a question. Until last year, no ex-president had ever faced criminal charges. According to the media, most experts do not expect the Supreme Court to agree with Trump’s interpretation of presidential immunity. But it will also be important how quickly the judges decide and whether, for example, they return the matter to lower courts for further consideration.
It was already a success for Trump that the Supreme Court decided to take up the issue in February. The move significantly reduced the likelihood that the federal election prosecution would reach a verdict before the November election, in which Trump wants to seek re-election as the Republican Party’s nominee. If the court does not rule against the former head of state in the coming weeks, it will be practically impossible to complete the process before the elections.
AP and New York Times analysts say the Supreme Court majority appeared skeptical of Trump’s theory of absolute immunity, but a quick verdict is not in the offing, according to them.
Smith’s impeachment brought in Washington is being described as the most important of the four sets of charges Trump faces. The former president is charged with four felonies, including conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and attempting to disrupt Congress. The accusations stem from Trump’s pressure on the actors of the January 6, 2021 congressional caucus, or a plan to present lawmakers with false voter lists that credited him with victories in states he lost.
Trump calls all accusations against him a conspiracy to disrupt his election campaign. He has already secured victory in the Republican primaries in that one, and it is almost certain that he will again face Democrat Joe Biden, i.e. the current president, in the race for the White House.
Tags: president absolute immunity Trump Supreme Court busy believes delays
