Joe Biden
Trump has acquired his own legal bat
Wolfgang Hansson
This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.
Published 17.56
Trump often complains that Democrats are using the justice system as a weapon against him.
The Supreme Court's decision to grant Trump far-reaching immunity shows that he has acquired himself a legal club through the three conservative judges he appointed as president.
Quick version
The result is a major victory for Trump and increases his chances of being re-elected this fall.
The immediate effect of HD's ruling is that the legal examination of Trump's attempt to cheat the election victory in 2020 is pushed even further into the future. Most likely until after the presidential election in November.
If Trump wins, he can drop the prosecution.
But there is an interesting detail in the ruling that could lead to a "mini-trial" before the election.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who originally had the case, will hold a hearing to decide which parts of the federal indictment against Trump still stand.
At this, the prosecution can present its evidence against Trump. Thus, the evidence also becomes public and available to the American voters before the election.
In any case, if the hearing is held in October at the latest. Whether that will be the case is highly unclear.
The Supreme Court's ruling is a big victory for Trump and increases his chances of being re-elected this fall, writes Wolfgang Hansson.
HD's ruling means Trump, and all future presidents, are immune from things they do in their official role as president. However, not what the president does in an unofficial role.
HD helps Trump
When Trump tried in various ways to change the election results in his own favor, did he do it in his role as president or in the role of presidential candidate?
When he tried to persuade Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election results, was it in the capacity of president or presidential candidate?
When he called the election official in Georgia to request that he "find" 11,780 more Trump votes, was it the president calling or the presidential candidate?
Exactly where these boundaries should go will be tested in the lower instance. But since every decision is guaranteed to be appealed by either side, the issue ends up on HD's table again. But it will be long after the presidential election.
For all of Trump's complaints against the Democrats for using the legal apparatus against him, it can be noted that the Supreme Court has time and again come to Trump's rescue.
- The question of immunity, which special prosecutor Jack Smith requested back in December, was not hurriedly tried. Instead, they put the goal last on their agenda.
- HD waited until the last day of the spring semester to come up with its verdict.
- Once a ruling was made, they did not decide the matter in its entirety, but sent it back to a lower court.
Thus HD has, whether consciously or not, become part of Trump's strategy to constantly try to delay the legal processes against the ex-president.
Take revenge on enemies
Trump has, in a way, become the smith of his own success. He was lucky enough to appoint three judges during his presidency. His stated purpose was that the judges he appointed would abolish the right to abortion.
He didn't just pull it off. Now the same judge, together with the three previously appointed conservative judges, has given him a big victory.
The question is also what the verdict means if Trump were to win the election in November. He has already said that he intends to use the legal apparatus to take revenge on his enemies. Thanks to the immunity that HD has given the office, it is completely risk-free.
Trump will effectively be able to do almost anything without risking punishment.
The three liberal judges all object extremely strongly to the ruling. Justice Sonia Sotomayor listed a number of possible examples of what a future president could do and still enjoy immunity.
- Command the special forces Navy Seals to assassinate a political opponent.
- Organize a military coup to retain power.
- Accept bribes to pardon a criminal.
- In every use of his official power, the president is now a king who is above the law, Sotomayor says.
"Scare propaganda"
HD chairman John Roberts called her catalog of possible abuses "hypothetical scaremongering".
The US political system is based on the principle of separation of powers, "checks and balances". Congress, the president and HD are three branches of the state apparatus that must balance each other so that no one gets too much power.
Constitutional experts in the US seem to agree that HD's decision greatly strengthens the power of the president.
That Biden strongly criticized HD's decision is hardly surprising. This means that Trump's attempted coup d'état will not receive any legal review before the election, which could reduce Biden's chances for re-election.
But Biden was unusually sharp in his criticism when he accused the judges of "undermining the rule of law" and of violating the basic principle on which the nation rests, that no one is above the law.
The next episode in the series about Trump's legal adventures will come on July 11 when the sentence against the ex-president comes for trying to hide payments to a porn star.
Will it be jail time or just a fine?
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