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Former President Donald Trump warned of a possibly "terrible" ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding his claims of presidential immunity.
While speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence following Monday's Supreme Court ruling upholding his ballot eligibility, Trump spoke about an upcoming hearing involving his claims of presidential immunity relating to the January 6 riots at the Capitol.
"Presidents have to be given total immunity, they have to be allowed to do their job," Trump said. "If they're not allowed to do their job it's not what the founders wanted, but perhaps even more importantly it will be terrible for our country."
The context:
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump's appeals over a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that sought to make him ineligible to run in the state in the 2024 presidential election.
The Colorado Supreme Court found that Trump was ineligible due to violations of the 14th Amendment, which bars individuals holding office from running again if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion."
However, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 9-0 decision on Monday, allowing Trump to remain on the ballot in the state.
What we know:
The U.S. Supreme Court previously announced that it was planning to hear arguments relating to Trump's immunity claims.
Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election relating to the January 6 riots. However, Trump has claimed in response that he had presidential immunity and cannot be charged with any crimes while he was holding office.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
Views:
Trump spoke further about the presidential immunity hearings on Monday, saying "if a president doesn't have full immunity, you really don't have a president."
However, Greg Germain, a law professor from Syracuse University, told Newsweek earlier that he did not expect Monday's ruling to help Trump with his immunity claims.
"I'm fairly confident that the court will hold that Trump is not immune from claims that he attempted to interfere with the election process for personal gain, or took classified government documents while leaving office," Germain told Newsweek. "So other than causing some delay, I would expect a thoughtful decision from the Supreme Court allowing the prosecutions to proceed."
What's next:
Trump remains the leading GOP candidate in the 2024 presidential election, leading former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in numerous polls. Trump has suggested that he'd like the presidential immunity ruling to come after the 2024 election.
It is currently unclear exactly when the Supreme Court will issue its final ruling on Trump's immunity claims.
Update 3/4/24, 1:22 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.
Update 3/4/24, 1:53 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more