GOP’s Supreme Court’s immunity ruling is both exactly as expected yet worse than feared

Biden must use every tool the court granted to stop Trump

We live in a different nation today than we did yesterday. That is the truth after the GOP controlled, corrupt US Supreme “Court” decision that helped Donald Trump by elevating a President to being above the law—forever.

Don’t take my word for it. Just look at the powerful words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent to the six GOP appointed justices delivering exactly what Trump wanted in his appeal seeking immunity for his Jan 6 related crimes:

“Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law. Relying on little more than its own misguided wisdom about the need for “bold and unhesitating action” by the President the Court gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more.”

As the Bronx born Sotomayor succinctly noted: “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”

There was never a question that the GOP Supreme “Court” was going to protect Trump. After all, the GOP court is simply an arm of the Republican Party and Trump is their party’s leader.  In fact, even before today’s decision, the GOP court had already delayed Trump’s Jan 6 case--as he desperately wanted--so that it could not be tried before Election Day.

But still the ruling the court delivered was jarring. It would be one thing if this was written decades ago at a different time in American politics. Instead, though, it was written by the Republican justices with full knowledge that the GOP presidential nominee had attempted a coup, incited the Jan 6 terrorist attack and was recently convicted of 34 felonies.

These six GOP justices have seen first-hand what Trump is capable of--yet they have chosen to protect him.  And worse, they know that if Trump returns to power, their opinion provides the sociopathic Trump with the immunity needed to order Seal Team Six to kill his political opponent, imprison political critics, remain in power for life, sell ambassadorships to the highest bidders and worse.

I’m not being hyperbolic. Again, this is the exact warning of Justice Sotomayor in her dissenting opinion. Sotomayor--who became a Justice in 2009—explained to all the real-world impact of this new broad immunity for “official acts” the court created:  

“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.”

She added, “Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends. Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today.”

You might ask how is that possible? As Sotomayor explained, “The Court effectively creates a law-free zone around the President, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the Founding. This new official-acts immunity now “lies about like a loaded weapon” for any President that wishes to place his own interests, his own political survival, or his own financial gain, above the interests of the Nation.”

Sotomayor then summed up how this new immunity has forever changed the nation: “Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity.”

She then added these powerful words, “The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”

That is why I began my article with the line: “We live in a different nation today than we did yesterday.” The GOP Justices have fulfilled the prophecy of Project 2025 that aspires to vastly expand the power of a President--and they did so without having to win any elections.

With respect to the decision itself, the GOP justices considered three types of conduct by a President: 1. Actions based on constitutional authority; 2. Official acts and 3. Unofficial acts.

As the first type of actions, the court stated, “We thus conclude that the President is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for conduct within his exclusive sphere of constitutional authority.”  Those would be presidential powers that are enumerated in the Constitution like granting pardons—which means a President in the future can literally sell pardons on eBay and he can’t be prosecuted. I’m not kidding.

In Trump’s current case, that means-as the six Republican justices explained—Trump’s efforts to have his DOJ help him overturn the election cannot be prosecuted since they note that the, “Executive Branch has ‘exclusive authority and absolute discretion’ to decide which crimes to investigate and prosecute, including with respect to allegations of election crime.”  Adding,
“For that reason, Trump’s threatened removal of the Acting Attorney General likewise implicates “conclusive and preclusive” Presidential authority.”

That broad language of the court also indicates they believe a President is absolutely immune for directing his DOJ to prosecute anyone including his political opponents—as Trump has vowed.

Then there are “official acts” which are “within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility.”  As the court explained: “the President must therefore be immune from prosecution for an official act unless the Government can show that applying a criminal prohibition to that act would pose no “dangers of intrusion on the authority and functions of the Executive Branch.”

As a practical matter that means a President can literally take any action they want as long as cloaked in the language of an official act. Again, that can be ordering the murder of a political opponent based on the claim he was a national security threat.  If prosecutors disagreed, then only after hearings and years of appeals to overcome the presumption of immunity could the prosecution of a former president even began. That offers zero deterrence.

Finally, the Court would allow the prosecution of “unofficial acts.” But as the court explained, “In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives.” That means a court can’t consider the bad motives of a President when considering if an action is entitled to immunity. That gives a license to Presidents like Trump to take official actions for personal gain or simply to be cruel.

The Supreme Court has now ordered the trial judge in Trump’s case to hold hearings on the remaining charges to determine what is official versus unofficial acts and if the Special Counsel can overcome the presumption of immunity. That will take potentially years given the appeals involved.

This is why Sotomayor closed her dissent with the words, “With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

I, too, fear for our democracy. That is why President Biden and the Democrats must make reforming this runaway Supreme Court a top priority. 

In addition, Biden can’t take the high road or adhere to some old view of American politics. Biden is the only thing that stands between us falling into the abyss. For that reason, he must embrace this newly created immunity to the fullest and use every legal weapon it provides to ensure that Donald Trump never steps foot in the Oval Office again. That is how we prevail in this battle.

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