WASHINGTON—Today, in Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court held that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions under their core constitutional powers and are also entitled to a presumption of immunity for their official acts.  

Heritage Foundation Vice President of the Institute for Constitutional Government John G. Malcolm made the following statement:   

“In Federalist No. 70, Alexander Hamilton decried feebleness in a president and said that an effective president must be prepared to act energetically, decisively, and with dispatch if he is to best serve our national interests. The President of the United States should never fear the possibility of being criminally prosecuted after leaving office for decisions he made while in office—especially in times of crisis.   

“Today, the Supreme Court recognized and breathed life into the important constitutional principle of separation of powers by providing former, current, and future presidents with absolute immunity for official acts that they undertook during their administrations and also made it clear that the burden falls on the prosecution to demonstrate that any action taken by a former president clearly falls beyond the outer perimeter of his official responsibilities and on the side of being an unofficial act.  The Court made it clear that Trump’s contacts with the Justice Department fall within the scope of official acts and that his contacts with Vice President Pence as well as most, if not all, of his public statements will fall within that scope. 
  
“Without these protections, our presidents might well face unjust prosecutions by ambitious and politically biased prosecutors once they leave office, which would have a chilling effect that could harm our national interests and would do great damage to the institution of the presidency.”  

Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky added:  

“Presidents must have the ability to make decisions without the fear of going to jail.

“Prosecuting official acts taken in office sets a dangerous precedent for future presidencies. Policy disagreements could quickly lead to throwing presidential opponents behind bars. That is un-American.

“The Supreme Court made the right call today and forever changed the office of the presidency for the better.”