Justice Sonia Sotomayor has said the Supreme Court's 'utterly indefensible' decision to grant Donald Trump immunity for his role in the US Capitol insurrection has allowed a president to become a 'king above the law'.
In an unsparing dissent,Sotomayor argued that the ruling 'effectively creates a law-free zone around the president' and is 'upsetting the status quo' under which the nation was founded.
The 6-3 decision split along the court's ideological lines ensures that Trump will not face another blockbuster trial before the November election with the case sent back to a lower court to determine what is considered his 'official' versus 'unofficial' acts.
The case centered on Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump for allegedly masterminding efforts to overthrow the 2020 election while in office,including on January 6.
Sotomayor was joined by liberal justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson,who wrote another dissent referring to the ruling's consequences as a 'five alarm fire'. Chief Justice John Roberts accused the liberal justices of fearmongering in the 6-3 majority opinion.
President Biden's deputy campaign manager blasted the Supreme Court decision. Quentin Fulks said Trump has become more 'unhinged' since the January 6 attack and because of the court decision,he is 'unchecked'
Under Monday's decision,a former president could be prosecuted for accepting a bribe,but prosecutors could not mention the official act,the appointment,in their case.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett,who joined the rest of Roberts' opinion,parted company on this point. 'The Constitution does not require blinding juries to the circumstances surrounding conduct for which Presidents can be held liable,' Barrett wrote.
She also described as unnecessary the analysis of the fake electors claim. 'I see no plausible argument for barring prosecution of that alleged conduct,' Barrett wrote.
The work of figuring out how to proceed will fall to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan,who would preside over Trump's trial.
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