Donald Trump is in practice above the law. That's what US President Joe Biden said at a press conference following the Supreme Court's ruling on the former president's immunity from prosecution on Monday.
I know that I will respect the limitations on the president's power, which I have lived with for three and a half years. But all presidents, including Donald Trump, are now free to disregard the law, said Biden at a press conference at the White House on Tuesday morning Swedish time.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that former presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution if their actions are deemed to have taken place within the scope of their office, but not if they acted as private individuals.
The judges did not, however, decide whether Trump's actions prior to the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 are covered by the immunity.
The case is therefore being sent back to a lower court to determine whether Trump acted as president or prospective presidential candidate and thus as a private individual when he held a political rally before the deadly congressional attack.
Thus, the legal process against Donald Trump is unlikely to begin before the autumn elections. Trump is accused in the federal indictment of attempting to have the result of the 2020 presidential election declared invalid.
Biden did not comment on his heavily criticized performance during last week's debate against Trump and did not answer questions from journalists on site.
