The United States Apex Court has, for the first time, recognised that former Presidents of the country have immunity from prosecution for certain actions taken in office.
The ruling comes as the US top court threw out a judicial decision rejecting former President Donald Trump’s bid to shield himself from federal criminal charges involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. The court yesterday ruled 6-3 that former Presidents are shielded from prosecution for actions they take within their
constitutional authority, as opposed to 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. The decision came in Trump’s appeal of a lower court ruling rejecting his immunity claim. Chief Justice John Roberts announced the landmark ruling on behalf of the court’s six-justice conservative majority.