Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for free
The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
Donald Trump is shielded from criminal prosecution for actions taken in his official capacity as president but not for private actions, the US Supreme Court has ruled, in a landmark decision that will impact the legal contours of the presidency for years to come.
In a 6-3 vote, the high court on Monday held that a former president “is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
The decision would allow proceedings to resume in one of the most serious criminal cases against Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential vote, who is charged in federal court with seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But it could still take a while for the case to come to trial as lower courts will now probably have to draw the boundaries between a president’s personal and official acts, reducing the likelihood of any verdict before November’s election.
This is a developing story