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Supreme Court live updates: Trump, Biden campaign react to SCOTUS immunity ruling
Trump called the ruling a "BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY."
The Supreme Court on Monday handed down a historic decision on whether a former president is shielded from criminal liability for "official acts" taken while in the White House.
The Supreme Court rejected former President Donald Trump's sweeping claim of "absolute" immunity from criminal prosecution for "unofficial acts" but granted some protections for former presidents for official acts taken while in the White House.
Trump aimed to secure such immunity to try to quash the federal election subversion prosecution brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Smith charged Trump with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, over his efforts to hold onto power after his 2020 election loss. Trump pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.
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'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.
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.
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.
-ABC News' Alexander Mallin
Trump reacts to SCOTUS ruling
Former President Donald Trump released a statement about the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision in a post on his social media platform.
"BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!" Trump wrote on Monday morning.
Biden campaign reacts to SCOTUS ruling
A senior Biden campaign advisor released a statement about the court's ruling on immunity, stating "Today’s ruling doesn’t change the facts, so let’s be very clear about what happened on January 6: Donald Trump snapped after he lost the 2020 election and encouraged a mob to overthrow the results of a free and fair election."
The campaign argued that Trump "thinks he’s above the law and is willing to do anything to gain and hold onto power for himself."
-ABC News' Selina Wang