The Supreme Court held Monday that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for a broad swath of official conduct even after they leave office. But it sent the thorniest questions about how that immunity applied to Donald Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election back to a lower court for consideration.
The 6-3 decision, which largely broke down along ideological lines, casts doubt on some aspects of the case that special counsel Jack Smith brought against Trump on charges stemming from his attempts to stop certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. It too limits whether testimony or documents from Trump’s presidency could be used as evidence at trial, further complicating what a jury could see.
But the court also left the door open for other parts of the case to proceed after a further review by the trial court — a process that would offer Trump more opportunities for appeal and delay. The decision almost certainly means that he will not face a criminal trial in Washington, D.C., before voters go to the polls in November. The court also rejected a novel constitutional theory advanced by Trump that an indictment could only proceed if a president was first impeached and convicted by the Senate.