On Monday, President Biden delivered an unexpected four-and-a-half-minute address condemning the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Donald Trump. The United States, which was released that morning.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has accused Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election by “spreading knowingly false claims of election fraud.” Trump’s legal team argued that these allegations fell under “the outer perimeter” of Trump’s official duties as president, rendering him immune from prosecution, and thus the charges should be dismissed.
The Supreme Court ruled that a former president is “presumptively” immune from prosecution for any “official” duties but may be prosecuted for “unofficial” actions. Biden began his address by stating that no one, not even the president, “is above the law,” but then incorrectly asserted that “with today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity—that fundamentally changed”, told The Guardian.
“For all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do,” Biden claimed. This accusation is objectively false. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion that the president of the United States may not be prosecuted for duties carried out under his constitutional authority but may be prosecuted for all other actions.
While Biden claims that this decision is a “new principle” setting a “dangerous precedent,” there is little evidence in the decision showing a deviation from tradition in the Supreme Court’s interpretation of a president’s vulnerability to prosecution. Roberts cited historical decisions, such as Chief Justice Marshall rebuking President Thomas Jefferson over submission to subpoenas and the separation of powers in United States v. Nixon.
Roberts argued that “the outer perimeter” of a president’s duties, as claimed by the defense, was unclear—neither “official” nor “unofficial”—and thus referred these details to the lower courts. Biden further claimed that “the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court of the United States. The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone.” He reiterated this claim, stating, “the law would no longer define the limits of the presidency.”
This assertion is objectively false. No passage in the 119-page document gives the president the authority to define “official” and “unofficial” actions to avoid prosecution and assign himself unlimited power. Biden continued by characterizing Monday’s decision as part of a trend of “attacks” on “long-established legal principles,” including voting rights and civil rights.
The Supreme Court has not “gutted” voting rights or civil rights. Every citizen of the United States retains equal voting rights at the age of 18. Furthermore, granting presidents immunity from prosecution for their official acts falls within Supreme Court precedents and does not constitute a reversal from “long-established legal principles.” As Roberts wrote, the U.S. “has never before needed an answer” to the question of when a former president may “be prosecuted for official acts taken during his presidency”, via CNN.
Biden accused Trump of sending “a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power.” However, two tweets on January 6, 2021, show Trump calling for protesters to remain “peaceful” and to “support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement.” Biden asserted that Americans deserved to see Trump “answer” in court for these actions “before Election Day.”
Biden concluded the press conference by encouraging all Americans to “dissent” along with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and then walked away from the podium, refusing to take any press questions.