'It makes a mockery of the principle ... that no man is above the law,' Sotomayor says in dissent
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the conservative justices' ruling on former President Donald Trump's immunity case.
Sotomayor contended in her dissent that the ruling "makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law."
She argued the conservative justices invented "an atextual, ahistorical, and unjustifiable immunity that puts the President above the law."
"That holding, which will prevent the Government from using a President's official acts to prove knowledge or intent in prosecuting private offenses, is nonsensical. Argument by argument, the majority invents immunity through brute force," she added.
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Sotomayor also said the ruling opens up the possibility that when a president uses their official powers in any way, they will be "insulated from criminal prosecution."
"Orders the Navy's Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune," Sotomayor wrote.
Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined Sotomayor in her dissent.
The split 6-3 opinion was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.