No one is above the law. Supreme Court will decide if that includes Trump while he was president
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the left and right, Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president.
“The law applies equally to all persons, including a person who happens for a period of time to occupy the Presidency,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2020.
Less than a year earlier, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, then a federal trial judge, wrote, “Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings.”
But former President Donald Trump and his legal team are putting that foundational belief to the test on Thursday when the high court takes up Trump’s bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump’s lawyers argue that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for their official acts. Otherwise, they say, politically motivated prosecutions of former occupants of the Oval Office would become routine and presidents couldn’t function as the commander-in-chief if they had to worry about criminal charges.
Related articles
- Thanks for joining us!I started the night saying that Man United were bidding to quieten the noise2024-04-26
VOX POPULI: Not everyone loves school lunch but it’s still vital for many
When I was in primary school, I dreaded school lunch.I could not stomach the skin of teriyaki chicke2024-04-26110,000 people to evacuate as floods swamp Russia, Kazakhstan
A picture taken on 8 April 2024 shows rescuers evacuating residents from the flooded part of the cit2024-04-26Missing Chinese exchange student found cold and scared in Utah
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here2024-04-26The WNBA's Dallas Wings are planning a move downtown from the suburbs in two years
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Wings are planning a move to the WNBA club’s namesake city under a 15-year2024-04-26Health NZ chairperson resigns after less than a year in position
Dame Karen Poutasi became chairperson of Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand in July. Photo: RNZ / Ang2024-04-26
atest comment