Supreme Court says presidents have ‘absolute’ immunity for clearly official acts but no immunity for unofficial acts (2024)

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While the majority was emphatic that Trump’s discussions with Justice Department officials were shielded by presidential immunity, the high court said it was a closer call whether Trump had immunity when it came to his interactions with Vice President Mike Pence, and his public statements in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said, the president “enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent for the minority said the majority’s grant of immunity “reshapes the institution of the presidency” and “makes a mockery of the principle” that “no man is above the law.”

Because the decision leaves it to the trial court to determine what is an official or unofficial acts by the then-president, it is highly unlikely that the 45th president will go to trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election before voters cast ballots in this year’s presidential contest.

We’ve tracked the biggest cases of this Supreme Court term — what the justices decided and why it matters. Take a look.

While the majority was emphatic that Trump’s discussions with Justice Department officials were shielded by presidential immunity, the high court said it was a closer call whether Trump had immunity when it came to his interactions with Vice President Mike Pence, and his public statements in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said, the president “enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent for the minority said the majority’s grant of immunity “reshapes the institution of the presidency” and “makes a mockery of the principle” that “no man is above the law.”

Because the decision leaves it to the trial court to determine what is an official or unofficial acts by the then-president, it is highly unlikely that the 45th president will go to trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election before voters cast ballots in this year’s presidential contest.

We’ve tracked the biggest cases of this Supreme Court term — what the justices decided and why it matters. Take a look.

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