Biden sharply criticizes US Supreme Court ruling on partial immunity for Trump
From a practical standpoint, Biden's decision that "there are no limits to what a President can do," stated in a White House speech, meant, according to Biden. "This is a fundamental new principle and it's a dangerous precedent." The powers of the President would no longer be restricted by law.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower federal court for further examination on Monday. Specifically, it concerns a past charge against Trump attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss against Biden. The lower court must now determine whether the charge refers to "official" or "unofficial" actions.
The immunity decision was made by the court with the votes of its six conservative justices against the three liberal ones. For the clear conservative majority on this powerful court, Trump himself was responsible, as during his tenure, he appointed three ideologically conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
In the Washington federal court case against Trump, there are several issues, including his role in the Capitol storming in Washington, D.C., in January 2021. Special prosecutor Jack White, who obtained the charges against the U.S. President, had previously expressed the opinion that at least part of the charges concerned "private" and not official actions.
Trump evaluated the Supreme Court decision on his Truth Social network as a "great victory for the Constitution and democracy." It provides him with an important additional time advantage: It means that the process before a Washington federal court regarding his attempted election manipulations will not begin before the election on November 5.
Trump intends to run against Democrat Biden again in the election. The process was originally scheduled to begin in early March but was postponed due to the unclear immunity issue.
Trump plays on time in all his legal disputes. If he wins the election, he would likely instruct the federal justice system to dismiss the charges against him. This would apply not only to the case before the Washington federal court regarding his election interventions but also to another case before a federal court in Florida, where it is about his taking of confidential government documents to his private residence.
Overall, four criminal charges have been filed against the 78-year-old former President. In addition to the charges in Georgia and the document affair, it is completely unclear when the proceedings will begin.
However, there was a guilty verdict in the New York case against Trump regarding a payment to the former porn star Stormy Daniels at the end of May. The jury found Trump guilty in all 34 points of falsifying business documents to hide the payment - making Trump the first ex-U.S. President in history to be criminally convicted. The New York judge will announce the sentence on July 11.
Several U.S. media reported that Trump's lawyers had sent a letter to the presiding judge to vacate the verdict and postpone the sentencing announcement in light of the Supreme Court decision.
- Despite Biden's concerns about unlimited Presidential powers, his statement about no limits has sparked debate in the USA.
- The partial immunity verdict by the Supreme Court could impact Trump's election defeat charges in a lower federal court.
- Biden's criticism of unrestricted Presidential powers echoes his stance on Trump's actions leading to his 2020 election defeat.
- The US court's decision on Trump's previous attempts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election loss against Biden is closely watched.
- The Supreme Court verdict, favoring Trump, could delay his trial in the Washington federal court regarding election manipulations.
- If re-elected, Trump might use his position as US President to influence courts, potentially dismissing charges against him, as he did with documents in Florida.
