U.S. President Joe Biden has objected to the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing the immunity privilege of his election rival, former President Donald Trump, saying “There are no kings in America.” Trump has found an excuse to postpone three of the four criminal trials after the election with this ruling, escaping the judicial risk of this year’s election.
According to CNN, Biden made an emergency speech at the White House immediately after the Supreme Court ruling on the 1st (local time) stating, “There are no kings in America. We are all equal before the law,” and “No one is above the law, not even the president.”
Biden criticized, “Today’s decision of the Supreme Court has damaged the rule of law,” adding, “My predecessor sent a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. We all saw it with our own eyes. We sat there and watched it happen that day. Attack on the police. The ransacking of the Capitol. A mob literally hunting down the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Gallows erected to hang the vice president, Mike Pence. I think it’s fair to say it was one of the darkest days in the history of America.”
Biden argued, “The public has the right to know exactly what happened on January 6, 2021. Now, because of today’s decision, that is highly, highly unlikely.” He continued, “It’s a terrible disservice to the people of this nation. Now the American people have to do what the Court should have been willing to do but would not. The American people have to render a judgment about Trump’s behavior.”
Biden emphasized, “America has believed from the first president that power must be limited,” and “Now this is in the hands of the powerful since the law no longer defines this.” He said, “I will respect the limits of presidential authority as I have for the past three and a half years. But any president, including Trump, is now free to ignore the law.”
Trump is currently facing four criminal charges: two from the federal prosecutor and two from the state prosecutor. In May, he was convicted guilty of the hush money case charged by the New York state prosecutor. The case is about Trump allegedly committing document forgery and election law violations in the process of using his company’s money to cover up a sexual relationship with a former adult film actress.
However, three of the charges are related to the execution of presidential duties and the refusal to accept the 2020 election. The federal prosecutor charged him with illegally taking out confidential documents from the White House without permission after his resignation on June 8 last year. On August 1 of the same year, the federal prosecutor additionally charged Trump, applying charges of attempting to overturn the election results and obstructing the election process. They argued that Trump incited a riot in Congress on January 6, 2021. Furthermore, in August of last year, the Georgia state prosecutor also charged Trump with violating organized crime law, arguing that Trump pressured the governor of Georgia to overturn the 2020 election results.
The Trump campaign argued that the prosecutor’s charges were invalid as Trump was the U.S. president at the time of the Congressional riot case, the second charge by the federal prosecutor. He also had parliamentary immunity. At the same time, it asked the court for authoritative interpretation, arguing that actions during the presidency are also subject to immunity privilege after resignation.
The first and second courts previously dismissed the Trump campaign’s claim of immunity privilege, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the 1st that it partially acknowledged the immunity privilege and sent the lawsuit back to the lower court.
John Roberts, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, stated, “The U.S. president has the right to be exempt from prosecution for official acts,” adding, “He cannot enjoy legislative immunity for unofficial acts.” He argued that whether Trump’s actions were official or unofficial should be determined by the lower court.
According to the ruling, Trump has gained a basis to claim prosecution immunity in three charges related to the execution of presidential duties. Of the total four charges, the hush-money case is scheduled to be sentenced in the first trial on the 11th, but the remaining three have not even set a trial schedule. It is expected that it will be difficult for U.S. courts to proceed with three criminal trials against Trump before the U.S. election in November due to this Supreme Court ruling.
