During an interview on Fox News Monday, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch discussed the rationale behind the court’s landmark decision in the presidential immunity case involving former President Trump.
In the interview, “America Reports” co-anchor Sandra Smith asked Gorsuch how the Supreme Court navigated the unprecedented aspects of the case. The ruling, issued last month, established that while a former president has significant immunity from prosecution for actions taken in an official capacity while in office, this immunity does not extend to unofficial acts.
“You gave us a very hard question,” Gorsuch said. “It’s the first time in American history that one presidential administration was seeking to bring criminal charges against a predecessor. We had to go back and look at what sources were available to us.”
Watch Justice Neil Gorsuch’s warning to the Marxist Left and their campaign to destroy the independent judiciary:
“Be careful.” pic.twitter.com/vlge6Z0Zyo
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) August 5, 2024
The justice, appointed by Trump, stated that the court’s 6-3 decision was grounded in the legal precedent set by the Nixon v. Fitzgerald case, which dealt with the issue of presidential immunity from civil liability for actions carried out during a president’s time in office.
“There are some things we can agree on. You can impeach a president if he does something unlawful. You can enjoin or stop the conduct of his officials. You can go to court and get an injunction. Those are two things we can all agree on,” the Trump-appointed justice said. “We also agree that no man is above the law in his private conduct. Even a president can be prosecuted for speeding. His private conduct, he is like everyone else.”
Here is Justice Gorsuch talking about the government abusing the Sarbanes-Oxley law to target a fisherman. That is the same law that our corrupt government used to put J6ers in prison. That is the case that the Supreme Court ruled on this year. pic.twitter.com/Xdq2JYVbAY
— The Researcher (@listen_2learn) August 9, 2024
Gorsuch explained that in the Supreme Court’s decision in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, it was established that a president is generally protected from civil lawsuits for actions taken in an official capacity, even after leaving office. However, this immunity does not extend to actions considered unofficial.
“Why? Because that would chill him from exercising the powers and duties of a president while he is president,” the justice said. “He would be overwhelmed. His political enemies would simply bring suits against him forever more. The court held that about 50 years ago. All the court did in this case was simply apply that same precedent and idea to the criminal context.”
America needs more of this:@MegynKelly: “Is it true that you all shake hands with all of the other justices every time you see each other?”
Justice Gorsuch: “That’s a 150-year-old tradition, Megyn. And yes, we do. I think that’s a wonderful ice breaker for us and for all… pic.twitter.com/WHkzgM4BGw
— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) August 7, 2024
