Trump v. United States: A Presidency Without Limits

On August 1, 2023, former president Donald Trump was indicted by a D.C. District Court grand jury on four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights in connection to the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. This indictment followed the 2022 Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation—headed by Special Counsel Jack Smith—into President Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. With this indictment, Donald Trump became the first president in US history to face criminal charges for actions taken while in office.

Although Supreme Court precedent established presidential immunity in civil suits (Nixon v. Fitzgerald 1982), no case has come before a United States court regarding immunity against criminal charges. 

President Trump’s defence before the D.C. District and Circuit courts was based on the claim that his actions leading up to the events of January 6th fell within the scope of official duties; the precedent of Nixon v. Fitzgerald applies immunity to any presidential actions made in the name of executive duties. However, both of these courts ruled against immunity, in 2023 and 2024 respectively, leading the former President to seek a ruling from the Supreme Court. The Court granted a writ of certiorari—a review of the lower court’s decision—on the question of whether a president’s official acts are entirely immune from criminal prosecution. 

The question before the Supreme Court was not whether President Trump’s actions as described by the DOJ were “official acts,” but rather if a president could be criminally charged. The majority opinion delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that “[The president] is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” overturning the circuit court. Thus the question remains: if the president is protected from any civil and criminal prosecution for official acts in office, but there is no definition of what constitutes an “official act,” what can’t the president do without facing repercussions?

Although the DOJ found President Trump culpable of inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6th, as he both urged his followers to travel to D.C. and continually denied the results of the election, this court decision means that there is no avenue by which to punish him. In the four years since Joe Biden won the presidency, former President Trump has continued to assert the invalidity of the 2020 election results, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. More than three fourths of polled Republicans are concerned about voter fraud and foreign interference in the upcoming election, the very fear that motivated the January 6th attack. With another contentious presidential election approaching, questions remain about what, if anything, could prevent the former president or his supporters from attempting to challenge the results of a fair election again.

Edited by Lily Molesky

Featured Image: “Former President Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Rochester, New Hampshire” by Liam Enea is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.