Trump called the ruling a "big win for our constitution and democracy."
Last Updated: July 1, 2024, 4:07 PM EDT
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Donald Trump's sweeping claim of "absolute" immunity from criminal prosecution in his federal election subversion case, but said former presidents are entitled to some protections for "official" acts taken while in the White House.
The ruling affects whether Trump faces a federal trial this year on four felony counts brought by special counsel Jack Smith, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of an official proceeding, for his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Trump pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.
The justices are sending the case back to the trial court to determine what acts alleged in Smith's indictment constitute official duties that could be protected from liability and which are not.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign sent out an email fundraising off the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity.
"BREAKING FROM TRUMP: Supreme Court gives TOTAL IMMUNITY for official acts!" Trump campaign's fundraising email said.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends his campaign event, in Chesapeake, Virginia, June 28, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
"Official acts cannot be illegally prosecuted - BIG WIN FOR DEMOCRACY &; OUR CONSTITUTION!" the fundraising email continues, calling the case a "witch hunt" and saying it "should've never happened."
-ABC News' Soorin Kim
Jul 01, 2024, 11:30 AM EDT
Jackson argues ruling 'breaks new and dangerous ground'
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a dissent in the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling arguing it "breaks new and dangerous ground."
"So, how does this new Presidential accountability model work? An initial problem is the lack of clarity regarding what this new model entails," she wrote.
Jackson added that the ruling "unilaterally altered the balance of power between the three coordinate branches of our Government as it relates to the Rule of Law, aggrandizing power in the Judiciary and the Executive, to the detriment of Congress."
Jackson and Justice Sonia Sotomayor both penned dissents. Justice Elena Kagan joined Sotomayor in her dissent.
The split 6-3 opinion was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson poses for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Jul 01, 2024, 11:16 AM EDT
'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.
Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor poses for the official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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.
Jul 01, 2024, 11:03 AM EDT
Special counsel Jack Smith declines to comment
Special counsel Jack Smith's office declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling, a spokesperson told ABC News.
The court's ruling will affect whether former President Donald Trump faces a federal trial this year on four felony counts brought by Smith, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of an official proceeding, for his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
