Immunity in office? Trump achieves partial victory in Supreme Court

"The president does not enjoy immunity for his unofficial actions, and not everything the president does is official. The president is not above the law," the decision states. This leaves open which parts of the indictment against Trump still stand in Washington. The Supreme Court did not clarify this question. It is now up to the competent lower court to find out which actions Trump's immunity applies to. This is likely to be a lengthy process.

The ruling was made by six votes to three. The majority of judges, who are considered to be arch-conservative, agreed with the decision in principle. The three judges considered to be liberal dissented.

Charges against Trump after Capitol storm

Trump, who is running for the Republican Party in the presidential election in November, has been charged in the US capital in connection with attempted electoral fraud. Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. Before storming the Capitol, Trump had attempted on various levels to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and reverse his defeat against Democrat Joe Biden. He has been charged with this in the US capital Washington - proceedings are also underway against Trump in the US state of Georgia for attempted election manipulation.

Trump and his lawyers wanted the charges in Washington to be dropped. They invoked Trump's immunity in his office as president at the time. They argued that Trump could not be legally prosecuted for acts that were part of his duties as president. They had already failed with this argument before an appeals court in the US capital. The judge in charge of the case had also previously rejected this argument. Trump's lawyers filed an appeal, which is why the case ended up before the Supreme Court.

Historic ruling

The Supreme Court, which has moved far to the right under Trump due to several replacements, has now taken a stand on the extent of the power of US presidents and the limits of the rule of law. The Constitution does not explicitly grant presidents immunity, even during their time in office. However, the Department of Justice has traditionally taken the view that presidents cannot be indicted, at least during their time in the White House. The ruling, with regard to the legal options for ex-presidents, will also have immense significance for future presidents and can already be seen as historic.

At the hearing before the Supreme Court at the end of April, the judges listened to the arguments of Trump's lawyer and the opposing side for around three hours. "This case has enormous implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country," said conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh, for example. Some judges indicated in their questions that although they do not support full immunity, certain actions should be protected from prosecution.

Several proceedings are underway against Trump

Several criminal proceedings are now underway against Trump in the middle of the election campaign. Trump has also been charged with attempted election fraud in the US state of Georgia. In Florida, he is accused of allegedly storing secret documents in violation of the law.

And in New York, the Republican was convicted at the end of May for unlawfully recording hush money payments to a porn actress. Sentencing is scheduled for mid-July. Trump has announced an appeal against the sentence.

The Republican maintains his innocence in all proceedings and portrays the investigations against him as an attempt by his political opponents to shut him down. So far, the criminal investigations have not hurt Trump in the polls.

The Supreme Court's ruling is also likely to have an impact on the election fraud proceedings at state level in Georgia and the secret documents proceedings - although the extent of this will only become clear in the coming weeks.