Stay Tuned with Preet Trump’s Immunity (with Joyce Vance, Rachel Barkow & Elie Honig)
Jul 3, 2024
Legal experts Joyce Vance, Rachel Barkow, and Elie Honig analyze the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's immunity, discussing implications for criminal prosecutions and Trump's New York conviction. They also delve into other SCOTUS rulings related to January 6 prosecutions and the 'administrative state', with a bonus analysis on emergency abortions.
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Three Presidential Immunity Categories
- The Supreme Court defined three categories of presidential actions for immunity: core duties with absolute immunity, official acts with presumptive immunity, and personal acts with none.
- The decision broadly protects official conduct, severely limiting prosecution possibilities for a sitting or former president.
Extreme Acts Covered by Immunity
- The Court's broad reading suggests even extreme actions, like ordering an assassination of a political rival, might fall under presidential immunity.
- The majority opinion's silence on this hypothetical implies acceptance of immunity for such official acts.
Immunity Based on Who Not What
- The Court equated official acts to who the president talks to, not what they discuss.
- This leads to broad immunity, even shielding inappropriate campaign-related conduct if it involves government officials.