US Supreme Court Decides Trump To Have Immunity Regarding Constitutional Authority As President

Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - The United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions under his constitutional authority as president, an important decision that for the first time recognizes all forms of presidential immunity from lawsuits.

The judges, in a 6-3 ruling written by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, rejected a lower court decision rejecting Trump's claim of immunity from federal criminal charges involving his attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 general election to Joe Biden. Six conservative judges were in the majority, while three liberal members disagreed.

"We conclude that based on our constitutional structure that separates power, the essence of presidential power requires the former president to have immunity from criminal charges for official action during his term of office," said Roberts.

Immunity for the former president is "mutullak" in connection with their "core constitutional power", wrote Roberts, and the former president has "at least "immunity to be considered" for "acts within his official scope of responsibility," meaning prosecutors face high legal barriers to overcome these assumptions.

In acknowledging Trump's extensive immunity, Roberts cited the need for a president to "jalan his duties without fear and justice" without threats of prosecution.

"Regarding the unofficial action of a president," Roberts added, "there is no immunity."

Trump praised the ruling in a social media post, writing: "A BIG VICTORY FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AMERICAN!"

It is known that Trump is a Republican candidate who challenged the incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the US general election on November 5, 2024, which became the'repetition' of the 2020 General Election.

The late handling of cases by the Supreme Court and its decision to return key questions about Trump's scope of immunity to court judges to be resolved, making it unlikely he will stand trial before a general election on charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Meanwhile, in his remarks at the White House, President Biden called the ruling a "dangerous presidential candidate" because the president's power would no longer be limited by law.

"The country was founded on the principle that no king in America, no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States," President Biden, speaking hours after one of his campaign officials said the ruling made it easier for Trump to "to take the path to dictatorship."

The ruling could thwart part of the special advisory case when US District Judge Tanya Chukan considered Trump's extensive immunity.

Trump is the first former US president to be prosecuted criminally and the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Smith's election subversion indictment is one of the four criminal cases Trump faces.

The court analyzed the four categories of behavior listed in the indictment. Namely: discussions with US Department of Justice officials after the election; alleged pressure he put on Vice President Mike Pence at the time to block congressional certification of Biden's victory; his alleged role in collecting pro-Trump fake electors for use in the certification process; and his behavior was related to the attack on the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 by his supporters.

The result gave Trump a lot of things he was looking for but did not provide absolute immunity to all official measures, as his lawyer was fighting for.

On the other hand, the court ruled that actions in the president's "exclusive scope of constitutional authority" enjoyed such protection, while actions taken beyond his exclusive authority were "assumed immune."

The court ruled Trump was completely immune to conversations with Justice Department officials. Trump is also "independent" regarding his interaction with Pence, but returned the category and two other categories to lower courts to determine whether Trump has immunity.

The ruling marks the first time since the founding of the state in the 18th century, that the Supreme Court has stated that the former president can be protected from criminal charges under any circumstances.

Trump's trial has been scheduled to begin on March 4 before delays in legal immunity issues. Now, no trial date has yet been set.

Trump filed his immune claim to a court judge in October, meaning the matter had been in court for about nine months.