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U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) condemned the United States Supreme Court Justices 6-3 decision last week granting former President Donald Trump partial immunity from criminal prosecution in his federal election subversion case.
The recent court ruling makes Trump less likely to face trial before this year’s presidential election. The Supreme Court Justices’ decision delays the trial proceedings challenging the legal viability of the case overall. In the court decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that a president’s motive is irrelevant to the assessment nor is the fact that an action would have allegedly violated a generally applicable law.
Padilla denounced the court ruling accusing former President Trump of using handpicked justices to abuse the power of the executive and judicial offices for personal and political gain.
“Before today, America’s judicial system was rooted in the simple but fundamental principle that no one is above the law. Not Congress, not the courts, and not even the President of the United States. Today’s decision turns that most fundamental principle on its head,” said Padilla.
Law experts warned that the court ruling alters the possibility of consequences, allowing presidential powers to go unchecked except in the case of a possible impeachment.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissenting opinion arguing that the ruling reshapes the presidency and makes the president above the law. The court’s decision is a blow to the foundation of the U.S. Constitution and government system establishing that, no man is above the law.
“The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, and possibly the world. When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution,” Sotomayor in her statement of dissent.
