Trump's Legal Immunity: How Does He Evade Justice?

Former US President Donald Trump has been involved in several criminal cases, including allegations of interfering in the 2020 election, mishandling classified documents, and defrauding the US. Despite these charges, Trump has repeatedly avoided conviction and punishment, leading to questions about how he has managed to escape legal consequences. In one notable case, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. However, he was sentenced to an unconditional discharge, meaning he faced no further penalties beyond the conviction itself. This outcome has sparked criticism and concerns about the integrity of the US legal system, with some arguing that Trump's actions set a dangerous precedent for future presidents.

Immunity from prosecution for official acts while in office

In the United States, the President has both civil and criminal immunity for their official acts. This immunity is not explicitly granted by the Constitution or any federal statute but has been affirmed by the Supreme Court.

In the case of Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982), the Supreme Court ruled that the President has absolute immunity from civil damages actions regarding conduct within the "outer perimeter" of their duties. This was further affirmed in Clinton v. Jones (1997), where the Court ruled against temporary immunity for sitting presidents from suits arising from pre-presidency conduct.

In Trump v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court ruled that former President Trump is absolutely immune from criminal liability for his official acts, and presumptively immune for some "core" acts. This includes his attempts to use the Justice Department to obstruct the results of the 2020 election. The Court left it to the lower courts to determine which of Trump's other actions were immune and which were not.

The Supreme Court's decision has been criticised by the ACLU, which argued that the U.S. Constitution and decades of Supreme Court precedent support the principle that nobody is above the law—even the president. The decision sets a dangerous precedent by giving presidents legal cover to break the law when using their formal powers.

Supreme Court's decision to grant immunity to Trump

In the case of Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that former President Trump is at least presumptively immune from criminal liability for his official acts and is absolutely immune for some "core" acts. The court's decision, which was made on partisan lines, set a dangerous precedent, giving future presidents legal cover to break the law.

The Supreme Court's ruling means that Trump cannot be prosecuted for deploying Justice Department officials to pursue his criminal ends. The court also announced "presumptive immunity" for other presidential actions, offering only a vague and unworkable standard that will likely mire the case against Trump in years of litigation.

The court did reject Trump's claim to absolute immunity for all acts unless convicted after an impeachment trial. However, it granted him substantial immunity for criminal conduct, including all crimes committed by attempting to enlist Justice Department officials.

The court left open many questions about when and for what conduct presidents will be immune from criminal prosecutions. It did, however, outline that Trump's alleged efforts to "leverage the Justice Department's power and authority to convince certain states to replace their legitimate electors with Trump's fraudulent slates of electors" could not be prosecuted.

The court also deemed Trump "presumptively immune" from prosecution for his discussions with former Vice President Mike Pence, stating that the president and vice president are acting officially when discussing their official responsibilities.

The court left it for the district court to decide whether prosecuting Trump for certain conduct would intrude on the power and operation of the executive branch.

Trump's hush money case

In January 2025, Donald Trump was sentenced to "unconditional discharge" in his New York hush money case, avoiding jail time, fines, or probation. The case involved payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from speaking out about an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels.

The sentencing judge, Juan Merchan, said that an unconditional discharge was the only lawful sentence he could deliver without encroaching on the office of the presidency. He noted that the protection of that office "is a factor that overrides all others."

Despite the lenient punishment, Trump became the first person in history to enter the White House as a convicted felon.

Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election result

After losing the 2020 election, Trump and his allies attempted to overturn the results, culminating in the January 6 Capitol attack by his supporters. Trump used the "big lie" propaganda technique to promote claims that had been proven false and conspiracy theories asserting the election was stolen by means of rigged voting machines, electoral fraud, and an international conspiracy. He pressured Department of Justice leaders to challenge the results and publicly state the election was corrupt. However, the attorney general, director of National Intelligence, and director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, as well as some Trump campaign staff, dismissed these claims. State and federal judges, election officials, and state governors also determined the claims were baseless.

Trump's legal team filed 63 lawsuits to bring a case before the Supreme Court, but none were successful. He also considered ways to remain in power, including military intervention, seizing voting machines, and another appeal to the Supreme Court. Trump's supporters continued their attempts to overturn the election, pushing for state legislature resolutions and new lawsuits, raising concerns among legal experts that public confidence in democracy is being undermined to lay the groundwork for baselessly challenging future elections.

Trump's handling of classified documents

During his term in office, Donald Trump's handling of classified information worried US federal intelligence officials. He regularly shredded sensitive papers while at the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and on Air Force One, despite admonishments from his chiefs of staff and White House counsel. His aides developed protocols to retrieve and tape documents back together. Trump also flushed documents down the toilet at the White House residence on at least two occasions.

In December 2019, Trump showed letters from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, which the US government had classified. In 2021, Trump told close associates that he regarded some presidential documents as his personal property.

Following Trump's loss in the 2020 US presidential election, talks began between the Trump administration and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regarding transferring documents related to the Trump administration. In May 2021, NARA became aware of missing documents, including letters from Kim Jong-un and a congratulatory letter from former President Barack Obama.

In January 2022, NARA retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, which contained classified information. The Justice Department instructed NARA not to share any more details about the documents, implying that the FBI was beginning a separate investigation. Of the documents retrieved, 184 unique documents had classification markings, with 25 marked as "top secret".

In May 2022, the Justice Department subpoenaed NARA in an attempt to obtain the documents and subpoenaed Trump to return all documents with classification markings. In June 2022, the Justice Department sent counterintelligence chief Jay I. Bratt and three FBI agents to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the documents requested in the subpoena.

In August 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago, seizing thousands of government documents, some with the highest possible classification. Across three interactions with Trump in 2022, the government recovered approximately 13,000 documents totaling 21,792 pages. Some of the recovered classified documents had been stored in boxes with personal effects. The government also recovered dozens of empty folders that carried classified markings.

Trump claimed he made a "standing order" to declassify all material brought to Mar-a-Lago, though there is no known documentation of the order, and no former Trump administration official defends this claim. In a November 2022 interview, a former Trump White House employee told the FBI that they had been unaware of any such standing order during Trump's presidency.

In June 2023, Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to the documents. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. In July 2024, Judge Aileen Cannon annulled the entire procedure on the grounds that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegal.

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