5 key lines from Supreme Court Trump immunity decision

The Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling Monday in Trump v. United States, concluding that a president has important immunity from prosecution for authoritative acts committed portion successful office, but not for unofficial acts.  

The determination clarifies whether a erstwhile president tin beryllium criminally charged by prosecutors for acts committed portion successful office. Former President Trump brought the question earlier the tribunal aft Special Counsel Jack Smith accused him of assorted crimes related to Trump’s effort to situation the results of the 2020 statesmanlike election.  

Smith has charged Trump pursuing a months-long probe into whether the erstwhile president was progressive successful the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and interfered successful the 2020 predetermination result. Trump has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges and argued helium should beryllium immune from prosecution from authoritative acts done arsenic president of the U.S.  

Here are 5 cardinal lines from the ruling:  

Former President Trump participates successful the archetypal statesmanlike statement astatine CNN Studios successful Atlanta, Georgia, connected June 27. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Chief Justice John Roberts says ‘The president enjoys nary immunity for his unofficial acts’  

In a 6-3 determination successful the case, the precocious tribunal sent the substance backmost down to a little court, arsenic the justices did not use the ruling to whether oregon not erstwhile President Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.  

TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION 

Roberts, penning for the majority, said "The President enjoys nary immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official.   

"The President is not supra the law," Roberts continued. "But Congress whitethorn not criminalize the President’s behaviour successful carrying retired the responsibilities of the Executive Branch nether the Constitution. And the strategy of separated powers designed by the Framers has ever demanded an energetic, autarkic Executive.  

"The President truthful whitethorn not beryllium prosecuted for exercising his halfway law powers, and helium is entitled, astatine a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for each his authoritative acts," helium added. "That immunity applies arsenic to each occupants of the Oval Office, careless of politics, policy, oregon party."  

Justice Sonia Sotomayor argues the ‘president is present a king supra the law’  

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote successful a dissenting sentiment that "in each usage of authoritative power, the President is present a king supra the law." 

"Let the President interruption the law, fto him exploit the trappings of his bureau for idiosyncratic gain, fto him usage his authoritative powerfulness for evil ends. Because if helium knew that helium whitethorn 1 time look liability for breaking the law, helium mightiness not beryllium arsenic bold and fearless arsenic we would similar him to be," she wrote. "That is the majority’s connection today.   

"Even if these nightmare scenarios ne'er play out, and I commune they ne'er do, the harm has been done," Sotomayor added. "The narration betwixt the President and the radical helium serves has shifted irrevocably." 

The Supreme Court Justices posing for an authoritative photograph astatine the Supreme Court. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Roberts responds to dissenting opinions, says president is ‘unlike anyone else’ 

Roberts responded to the wide justices: "Coming up abbreviated connected reasoning, the dissents repeatedly level variations of the accusation that the Court has rendered the President ‘above the law.’" 

"Like everyone else, the President is taxable to prosecution successful his unofficial capacity. But dissimilar anyone else, the President is simply a subdivision of government, and the Constitution vests successful him sweeping powers and duties. Accounting for that world — and ensuring that the President whitethorn workout those powers forcefully, arsenic the Framers anticipated helium would — does not spot him supra the law; it preserves the basal operation of the Constitution from which that instrumentality derives." 

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"The dissents’ positions successful the extremity boil down to ignoring the Constitution’s separation of powers and the Court’s precedent and alternatively fearfulness mongering connected the ground of utmost hypotheticals astir a aboriginal wherever the President "feels empowered to interruption national transgression law," helium wrote. 

Justice Clarence Thomas says ‘president’s immunity from prosecution for his authoritative acts is the law’  

Thomas, who was among the majority, wrote successful the determination that "in this case, determination has been overmuch treatment astir ensuring that a President ‘is not supra the law.’  

"But, arsenic the Court explains, the President’s immunity from prosecution for his authoritative acts is the law," helium continued. "The Constitution provides for ‘an energetic executive,’ due to the fact that specified an Executive is ‘essential to... the information of liberty.’"  

President Biden slammed the Supreme Court's ruling connected statesmanlike immunity successful Trump v. United States, saying it means determination are virtually nary limits connected what a president tin do, successful an code Monday evening. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

"Respecting the protections that the Constitution provides for the Office of the Presidency secures liberty. In that aforesaid vein, the Constitution besides secures liberty by separating the powers to make and capable offices," Thomas besides said. "And, determination are superior questions whether the Attorney General has violated that operation by creating an bureau of the Special Counsel that has not been established by law."  

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says bulk is ‘discarding of a exemplary of accountability for transgression acts’ 

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that she "simply cannot abide the majority’s senseless discarding of a exemplary of accountability for transgression acts that treats each national of this state arsenic being arsenic taxable to the instrumentality -- arsenic the Rule of Law requires.   

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"That halfway rule has agelong prevented our Nation from devolving into despotism. Yet the Court present opts to fto down the guardrails of the instrumentality for 1 highly almighty class of citizen: immoderate aboriginal President who has the volition to flout Congress’s established boundaries," she added.  

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.