President Joe Biden slammed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they commit while president.
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump successfully argued he and other presidents are immune from prosecution for any acts undertaken in their capacity as president. Trump is a convicted felon who is under indictment in three jurisdictions. Now, it remains to be determined by lower courts whether the crimes Trump has been charged with were “official acts.” The decision essentially ensures that Trump’s remaining trials will not begin until after the election, and perhaps never.
Biden addressed the ruling hours after it was handed down on Monday.
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” he said. “Each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law – not even the president of the United States. But today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed. For all, for all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do.”
Biden called the ruling “a dangerous precedent.”
“This decision today has continued the court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation,” he added.
The president then recalled how Trump incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot after trying to overturn the 2020 election.
“The public has a right to know the answer about what happened on January 6 before they are asked a vote again this year,” he said.
“I concur with Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor’s dissent today,” Biden continued. “She said, ‘In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law… with fear for our democracy, I dissent.’ End of quote. So should the American people. I dissent. May God bless you all, may God help preserve our democracy.”
Watch above via CNN.
