The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this month about presidential immunity and whether former President Donald Trump can be tried on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The high court’s decision will determine how some of the presumptive GOP nominee’s legal cases advance in an election year where he is facing 91 felony charges across four trials. They include the willful retention of national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act.
“Donald Trump is trying to show that a U.S. president is immune from criminal prosecution while acting in an official capacity,” University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock told VOA.
“But I think, at the heart of this matter, is just how broadly Trump and his lawyers define ‘official capacity,’” Bullock explained.
“They are defining it very broadly at the moment. Trump says a president should be completely immune while president, but the three-judge circuit panel that ruled against him posed the question: ‘Well, what if the president hired a hitman to take out one of their rivals? Is that in an official capacity, and are they immune from prosecution then, as well?’ I think we’d all say, of course not!”
Xi Focus: Flourishing Wildlife Shows Success of China's National Parks
View of Zhalong National Nature Reserve in northeast China
China sees holiday trips rise 70% to 274 million
Yvette Fielding says her Most Haunted co
Xi Replies to Letter from Bangladeshi Child Alifa Chin
Xi Stresses Accelerated Efforts to Build Leading Country in Education
Inside the world of China's insect explorers
Not so Cool Britannia! Noel Gallagher gives damning verdict on Keir Starmer
Xi Hosts Central Asian Leaders in Historic Silk Road City for Milestone Summit
Verona confirms Serie A status for another year after beating Salernitana
Feature: Books on Xi's Thought Key to Understanding China