Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr reality checked critics of the Supreme Court’s ruling granting former President Donald Trump “absolute immunity” for official acts taken while in office.
Critics of Trump argued the ruling places a president above the law by granting them the absolute power to execute any unlawful decision they desire. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting decision that the majority’s ruling “reshapes the institution of the Presidency,” claiming “the President is now a king above the law.”
“Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends,” Sotomayor wrote. “Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today.”
Barr argued the president only has absolute immunity when he is carrying out an official act protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“There’s absolute immunity when he’s acting directly under the constitution, carrying out a function under the constitution. There’s presumptive immunity when he performs an official act, and the government has the burden of showing that it can prosecute him for that without impairing the executive function. And finally, there’s no immunity for unofficial or private acts. And I think the — and the practical effect of this is that the district court is gonna do what it really should have done at the beginning, which is the government really should have had it do, which is do the analysis so that the facts are going up to the Supreme Court,” Barr said during a Monday segment.
Bill Barr Reality Checks Trump Critics Following SCOTUS Ruling pic.twitter.com/BM7KOGMMFl
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 1, 2024
He accused Sotomayor of “unfairly” portraying the majority opinion, arguing that a president is still restricted from particular actions forbidden by the U.S. Constitution. (RELATED: ‘Literally The Definition Of Democracy Working’: Ex-US Attorney Roasts Dems For Attacking SCOTUS After Immunity Ruling)
“He has the right to go and tell the Department of Justice to investigate something, but an example used by Justice Sotomayor was, ‘oh, then he can fabricate evidence, give the evidence to the department and use that evidence to indict them.’ He doesn’t have authority to fabricate evidence,” Barr continued. “That’s not carrying out an executive function. And the worst example, I think — the one that makes no sense whatsoever is that he can use SEAL Teams 6 to kill a political opponent. The president has the authority to defend the country against foreign enemies — armed conflict and so forth. He has the authority to direct the justice system against criminals at home. He doesn’t have the authority to go and assassinate people.”
“So whether he uses the SEAL Team or a private hitman, it doesn’t matter. It’s not a carrying out of his authority. So all these horror stories really are false,” he added.
Liberal pundits openly fantasized about President Joe Biden assassinating or taking military action against political opponents. One pundit argued the decision meant Biden could direct SEAL Team 6 to assassinate Trump and Supreme Court justices as an official act of the executive branch. Many falsely argued Biden can direct the military to “drone strike” the residences of the justices and the former president, with one even appearing to urge the president to do so.
Trump appealed Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith’s four-count indictment relating to his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election on January 6, 2021. The high court agreed to take up the case in late February after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Trump is not immune from prosecution in this particular case.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion that the analysis of which of Smith’s allegations should be deemed official acts is “best left to the lower courts.”
