SEATTLE - New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on July 1 that she will file impeachment articles against at least one justice on the Supreme Court after their decision to grant partial immunity to former President Donald Trump as he faces felony charges in his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Ocasio-Cortez said the ruling contradicts a central premise of the constitutional design that no one is above the law. This comes after the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump cannot be prosecuted for "official" actions he undertook as President. Trump is facing four felony charges related to his role in the January 6 revolt that took over the U.S. Capitol.
Back on Feb. 6, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results. Although the Supreme Court rejected that decision on July 1 by arguing that former presidents enjoy a presumption of criminal immunity for official acts while in the White House.
This decision will likely delay Trump's case by sending it to a lower court to decide whether or not his actions during the January 6 insurrection merit protection from criminal prosecution.
"Today's ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture. I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return," said the representative via a tweet on the social media platform X.
The 6-3 ruling was condemned by the court's liberal justices, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson writing a joint statement that read "today's decision to grant former presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency."
The joint statement also added that the decision "makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law."
As the Supreme Court left the decision to the discretion of a lower court, the ruling ensures that the outcome of Trump's case will not be known to voters before the polls open in November to decide the next president of the United States.
Earlier this year, Trump became the first former American president to be convicted on felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election through hush money payment to a porn actress.
Although a resolution on Trump's "official" actions remain to be known, other issues such as Trump's pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike pence could possibly still move forward.
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