The ruling was a gut punch to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of former president Donald Trump for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the 2020 election results. In saying Trump is immune from prosecution for official acts, the court yanked outsome of the evidence in the indictment — specifically, Trump’spressure campaign on the Justice Department.
Other material — like Trump’s pressure campaign on his vice president, and his public statements in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot — may or may not be ruled out as evidence, but the court sounded pretty skeptical that prosecutors will be able to provethose aren’t also official acts and therefore immune from prosecution.
As a result, Smith’s case is about to undergo a significant whittling down, a process that is likely to take months, lead to additional issues for the Supreme Court to decide and ultimately leave Smith with the prosecutorial equivalent of a one-legged stool — a case so hobbled that it can’t stand on its own.
But here at the Trump Trials newsletter, we cannot predict the future. We can only cover what happens and explain it.
Source link : https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/01/trump-trials-immunity-supreme-court/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-01 21:51:15
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.