Susan Collins, Jared Golden withhold criticism of Supreme Court ruling, say impact is unclear

Jul. 2—U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden said it's too soon to know the impact of Monday's Supreme Court ruling that found presidents are immune to prosecution for official acts.

Both Collins, a Republican, and Golden, a Democrat who represents Maine's rural 2nd District, said a lower court must still determine if it applies to criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

Their statements a day after the ruling stand in contrast to the reaction Monday of the other two members of Maine's congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, were quick to criticize the court for the decision, which they said could set a dangerous precedent for future presidents by providing them with unchecked power.

"The Supreme Court decision distinguishes between official acts and unofficial acts, in which a President is acting in a personal capacity and is not immune from prosecution," Collins said in a statement.

"The Court, therefore, is sending the case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for further fact finding. It is clear that this case and other criminal proceedings involving former President Trump will continue to play out in the months ahead."

The court decided 6-3 Monday, in response to charges that Trump tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, that presidents are entitled to immunity from prosecution for official acts. But the case will return to a lower court to decide if Trump's actions in regards to the election were in an official or a personal capacity.

"It would seem to me that there is a meaningful difference between official acts undertaken as a president and unofficial acts taken while holding the office," Golden said in a statement.

"The real question is how lower courts apply this new framework in cases that seek to hold former presidents accountable for alleged wrongdoing. We should see how this framework is applied before rushing to judgment over whether it is fundamentally flawed."

Golden, who is seeking reelection this fall in a district that has supported Trump in the past two presidential elections, wrote in a newspaper column Tuesday that he expects Trump to win the presidency in November.

"While I don't plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win," Golden said. "And I'm OK with that."

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