Trump v. United States
United States Supreme Court
144 S.Ct. 2312 (2024)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
In 2023, a federal grand jury indicted former president Donald Trump (defendant) on criminal counts stemming from conduct while in office. The indictment alleged that after losing the November 2020 election, Trump conspired to overturn the result by making knowingly false claims of election fraud. Specifically, the indictment alleged that: (1) Trump had discussions with the Justice Department encouraging sham election-crime investigations and alerts of suspected fraud to convince states to replace legitimate electors; (2) Trump tried to convince the vice president to use his ceremonial role at the January 6 certification proceeding to reject legitimate electoral votes; (3) in interactions with various state officials, private parties, and the broader public, Trump attempted to convince them that election fraud had tainted the vote; and (4) in tweets and a speech, Trump encouraged supporters to go to the Capitol Building to put pressure on the vice president during the certification proceeding. Trump moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that a former president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken in office. The district court denied the motion, holding that presidents do not have absolute immunity. The court of appeals affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Roberts, C.J.)
Concurrence (Barrett, J.)
Concurrence (Thomas, J.)
Dissent (Jackson, J.)
Dissent (Sotomayor, J.)
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