Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling endangers democracy

Jacob Garrett
·2 min read
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The Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity has endangered democracy in the U.S.

The court's decision states that a president has full criminal immunity for official acts and that anything within the outer limits of the office is subject to presumed immunity. This seems logical, but fatal flaws emerge in the opinion’s explanation of how the ruling applies to the different portions of former President Trump's case.

More: Supreme Court presidential immunity decision destroys legitimacy

The majority declared that Trump’s discussions with acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen about pushing states to consider their results fraudulent and his threatening to replace Rosen when the latter pushed back falls under the purview of official acts. If Trump was engaging in part of a scheme to defraud the voters and influence the American election through the power of the executive, as he is accused of doing in the indictment, then this would mean that the majority has given carte blanche to any president to do whatever they wished, so long as they discuss it with another member of the executive branch who has jurisdiction over the subject area.

A placard that read "loser" is seen in front of the US Supreme Court on July 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
A placard that read "loser" is seen in front of the US Supreme Court on July 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

The majority cites Federalist No. 70, reasoning that the framers of the Constitution intended for the executive branch to be “vigorous” and “energetic.” What the majority conveniently refuses to contend with, however, is that this intention was carried out with the assumption that the checks and balances of the federal system would keep them from carrying out the tyrannical and dictatorial whims of a head of state that they suffered under King George III and his Parliament.

With their decision on July 1, just three days before our nation’s 248th birthday, justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh thoroughly vacated the premise upon which the Founding Fathers instigated revolution in the first place.

Jacob Garrett lives in Muncie.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling endangers democracy