'He's the devil', Trump critics speak out against Supreme Court immunity ruling

Protesters gathered at the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Monday, after it recognized that ex-presidents have immunity from prosecution for certain actions taken in office.

"He's the devil," protester Lesley Feder said, adding that America would never get people's respect in the world if they put into office a "pathological liar".

"In my opinion, this is a corrupt court that has kicked the can down the road to such a degree that Trump will not get a trial before the election," another protester Noel Evans told Reuters.

The court ruled 6-3 that while former presidents enjoy immunity for actions they take within their constitutional authority, they do not for actions taken in a private capacity.

The ruling marked the first time since the nation's 18th-century founding that the Supreme Court has declared that former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance.

Chief Justice John Roberts announced the landmark ruling on behalf of the court's six-justice conservative majority. The court's three liberal justices dissented.

The decision came in Trump's appeal of a lower court ruling rejecting his immunity claim. The court decided the case on the last day of its term.

Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 US election in a rematch from four years ago.

The court's slow handling of the blockbuster case already had helped Trump by making it unlikely that any trial on these charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith could be completed before the election.

Trump had argued that he is immune from prosecution because he was serving as president when he took the actions that led to the charges.

Smith had opposed presidential immunity from prosecution based on the principle that no one is above the law.

(Source: Reuters)

 

 


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