(WXMI) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that sitting presidents are immune from prosecution if the actions taken occur within the limits of their constitutional powers.
In other words, the opinion rules absolute immunity for core constitutional functions and then a presumption of immunity for any other official acts.
Moving forward in former President Trump's case, what is considered official and unofficial will be determined by the lower courts — not the Supreme Court.
Prof. Michael McDaniel with the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School says he was surprised by the court’s opinion.
“I'm still having a hard time believing that it went this far,” says McDaniel. “This is absolutely contrary, I believe, to what the founding fathers believed. Alexander Hamilton, the federalist papers, specifically said that a president, unlike a king, is not above the law. That's the difference between the United States and Great Britain. … Now, we've got this circumstance where, for the first time, the Supreme Court has said motives don't matter. If it's an official action, that's the only thing we will consider.”
Now for a quick lesson in constitutional law. In Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution lies the "speech or debate clause." This establishes that members of Congress have immunity from criminal prosecutions or civil suits that stem from acts taken within the legislative sphere.
The exceptions would be "treason, felony, and breach of the peace."
But as McDaniel explains, the executive branch was not given the same immunity within the parameters of the Constitution.
National Politics
President Biden gives remarks on Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision
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