It is super-duper clear that’s not intended by the authors of the constitution, judging from their writings and the records of the debate over the constitution, and from the very limited relevant text in the constitution itself.
This is laid out clearly in the dissent, complete with references for further reading. Meanwhile the majority’s argument is “lack of immunity (which has, so far, not existed!!!) would make the president too timid, so we’re adding immunity”.
> Meanwhile the majority’s argument is “lack of immunity (which has, so far, not existed!!!) would make the president too timid, so we’re adding immunity”.
It has existed, it just hasn't been tested. The supreme court didn't "grant" immunity, they interpreted the Constitution to come to the conclusion that immunity already exists.
And the reason that it's happening now is because no political party has been willing to escalate political differences with presidential candidates to the point of criminal charges before.
That's changed recently, hence the need for the ruling.
Prosecuting attempts to overturn an election isn’t prosecution over “political differences”.
> they interpreted the Constitution to come to the conclusion that immunity already exists.
The constitution saying nothing about immunity except that it is not conferred to someone who has been impeached, no, they did not interpret the constitution.
[edit] specifically, it’s this bit:
> Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
That is: impeachment can’t impose punishments aside from removal & disqualification, but that ought not be taken to mean that further prosecution for the same acts may not be undertaken. That’s all it says on the matter. They relied on the Federalists stating in the Federalist Papers and elsewhere that they wanted a fairly active President to conclude the President needs immunity. Meanwhile the Federalists also wrote that the President ought not be above the law, as that’s what separates our system from monarchy, but that’s inconvenient so you have to keep reading to the dissent to see that presented.
Yup, all the originalists and textualists on the court running and hiding when the outcome benefits their person. Instead it's just "Well, we like trump so let's benefit him".
What a horrible corrupt court.
I'm 1000% sure that if trump wins and starts prosecuting his political rivals the court will give it the nod as being AOK.
The supreme court ruled against Trump many times during his first term. Census rules, immigration, 2020 election lawsuits. Reality doesn't match your perception.
Ruling against trump on minor issues isn't the same as ruling for him because he's the best chance to be a conservative president.
And for every one of these rulings, which frankly were all him blatantly ignoring/violating the law in ways that even this court couldn't ignore, there were 10 cases where the courts moved forward conservative agendas.
Further, many of those rulings happened while Ginsberg was still alive with Roberts as the swing vote. That's no longer the makeup of the court.
You are playing the "yeah but what about" game. The reality is the supreme court just vested kingship on the next conservative president.
This is laid out clearly in the dissent, complete with references for further reading. Meanwhile the majority’s argument is “lack of immunity (which has, so far, not existed!!!) would make the president too timid, so we’re adding immunity”.