“Can George Bush still be sent to prison?”: Donald Trump’s lawyer argues for presidential immunity before the Supreme Court

Donald Trump’s lawyer defended the position before the Supreme Court on Thursday that the American ex-president cannot be prosecuted for any criminal offenses he has committed in his position as head of state. Prosecuting a president for his “official actions” is not compatible with the constitutional structure of the US, argues lawyer D. John Sauer.

Trump’s lawyer strengthened his plea with references to other American (former) presidents. “Can President George W. Bush be sent to prison for lying to Congress to start a war in Iraq?” Sauer asked. “Could President Biden one day be impeached for allowing immigrants to enter the country illegally?” The answer to those questions is ‘no’, it was said.

The lawyer also pointed out that no president in American history has ever been prosecuted for performing “official acts.”

Storming the Capitol

The Supreme Court judges still had many questions for the lawyer after the oral argument. They wondered, among other things, which actions would fall under the definition of “official acts”.

“If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and orders the military or someone else to kill him, would that fall within his official duties and therefore exempt him from punishment?” liberal judge Sonia Sotomayor op.

American media report, based on the questions asked, that several judges do not appear to be in favor of full presidential immunity. It may take several weeks before a ruling is made.

Experts suspect that the Supreme Court will ultimately not rule on all aspects of the case. The file would then be sent back to a lower court, which must determine which offenses will not be prosecuted. In that case, it will be very unlikely that a ruling on the merits will be reached before the presidential elections, which would be a success for Trump.

The fact that the Supreme Court in Washington DC is considering presidential immunity is a result of the complaint filed against Trump for influencing the 2020 elections. The ex-president believes that he cannot be charged because he was at the time of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was still in office and therefore enjoyed presidential immunity.

Trump himself was not present at the hearing on Thursday. He was in a New York courtroom for the trial over the hush money that the former American president allegedly paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels.