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.
Lightning and Islanders searching for answers to rebound from 2
South Africa sees over 1 mln travelers during Easter holiday
Zoe Ball announces death of her 'dear mama' Julia following short battle with pancreatic cancer
Thousands protest in Niger demanding withdrawal of U.S. troops
Interview: Racism, abuse of weapons fuel gun violence in U.S. society, says Egyptian expert
Roundup: Africa Climate Summit highlights urgency of green transition amid financing bottlenecks
PGA Tour players learn how much loyalty is worth in new equity program
Interview: Nigeria would learn from Chinese model of development
With lawsuits in rearview mirror, Disney World government gets back to being boring
Kenya, World Bank unveil carbon market guidebook for enterprises