US Supreme Court’s immunity ruling will unleash an even worse Trump
Now, according to the US Supreme Court, we need to add a few more words: no one but the president of the United States is above the law. That qualification changes everything.
Whether or not the court’s conservatives intended to clear the way for the exoneration of Trump for everything he did to overturn the 2020 election, that is exactly how their ruling on the question of Trump’s immunity will play out.
02:18
New York jury finds Donald Trump guilty on all counts in hush money trial
New York jury finds Donald Trump guilty on all counts in hush money trial
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the president of the United States may not be prosecuted for duties he carries out under his constitutional authority but may be prosecuted for all other actions.
One can choose to believe – as many Republicans appear to have done – that the justices have clarified a legal issue and protected the executive branch’s ability to govern. But even those of us lacking legal backgrounds can see that the ruling created a field of ambiguity on which politicians with little restraint can run to their goal with little to no interference.
Trump’s lawyers now only need to argue that when he ordered the removal of metal detectors for those attending his rally on the White House Ellipse on January 6, 2021, because, according to a White House aide, Trump said “they’re not here to hurt me”, and then sent armed supporters to Capitol Hill, the then-president believed the election was stolen.
Republicans will claim last week’s ruling proves that indictments against those who tried to overturn the election were tainted by politics. The message could resonate with enough voters, particularly those brainwashed through social media with bogus claims about a stolen election, to tip the upcoming election in Trump’s favour.
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World shocked by assault on the US Capitol by radical pro-Trump supporters in Washington
World shocked by assault on the US Capitol by radical pro-Trump supporters in Washington
If Project 2025 – a blueprint to sweep away the rules and conventions that prevent the politicisation of federal agencies – is implemented, he will then be many times more emboldened than he was in his first term. Don’t believe Trump’s claim that he’s never even heard of the plan. It was written by a Trump-friendly think tank, the Heritage Foundation, with a second Trump administration in mind.
From his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to his national security advisers John Bolton and H.R. McMaster, we’ve heard plenty about efforts to block Trump from doing his worst. He will not tolerate any obstructions in a second term. Without fear of criminal conviction, Trump’s campaign of vengeance will start on his first day in office, the one on which he will, as he has told us, be a dictator.
Even if Trump manages to lose in November, the damage the Supreme Court has caused in altering a fundamental American principle will reverberate far and wide given the transformation that the Republican Party has undergone in the past decade.
The US Supreme Court ruled that former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump can claim some degree of immunity from federal criminal charges against him relating to efforts to undo his 2020 election loss. Photo: Reuters
One former European Union diplomat based in Asia remarked to me that in 50 years, the US had gone from forcing out a president, Richard Nixon, who had said “when the president does it, that means it is not illegal”, to the Supreme Court actually making it law.
With Biden appearing to be in a weakened state, Democrats must pull together and move quickly on what should have been done at least two years ago, when the Supreme Court took away the federal right to an abortion. They must figure out who among them connects best with voters unhappy with the Supreme Court’s recent decisions and unwilling to support a candidate whose trades in election lies and climate change denialism.
Biden is a good man who has worked hard to restore American alliances. He championed legislation that is bringing critical industries back to the country. He should consider taking a bow and devoting the next few months to boosting whomever his party decides should be his successor.
Robert Delaney is the Post’s North America bureau chief
