The Supreme Court has been on a roll with major back-to-back rulings on homelessness, abortion, the environment, and much more. On Monday, the court ruled that American presidents have “partial immunity” for official acts committed while in office — if it’s determined that former President Donald Trump incited the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, he may not be held responsible at all.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling directly rejects the February decision from a federal appeals court that ruled Trump is not immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. After the Monday ruling, President Joe Biden called out the Supreme Court for setting a “dangerous precedent.”
The executive office “not only tests your judgement; [but] perhaps even more importantly, it’s an office that tests your character,” Biden said.
During his speech from the White House, the president stressed that “there are no kings in America,” but now, the “decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits of what a president can do,” he continued.
In light of the upcoming November election, the court’s Monday ruling was the most anticipated, and perhaps most important, of the year. Biden said Trump will “be more emboldened to do whatever he pleases whenever he wants to do it” with this decision, and Biden’s campaign completely agrees.
Quentin Fulks, Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, said he’s “scared as shit” following the Court’s ruling and urged the American people to be as well.
Trump wasted absolutely no time following the ruling: Just hours after the Court’s decision, Trump’s lawyers motioned to overturn his Stormy Daniels hush money conviction, according to the New York Times. This new motion directly cites the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling; it means at least a two-week delay of the former president’s sentencing which was set for July 11, according to ABC New York.
The immunity ruling will also affect the ongoing election interference trial against Trump in Atlanta.
“No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Biden said on Monday. Clearly, the Democratic nominee is disappointed in the Court’s decision, but he is now calling on the American people to do what he says the Court should have done: “decide whether Donald Trump’s assault on our democracy on January 6 makes him unfit for public office.”
Trump celebrated the Court’s decision as a “big win for our Constitution and for democracy” in an interview with Fox News Digital.