WASHINGTON (AP) — On the left and right, Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president. “The law applies equally to all persons, including a person who happens for a period of time to occupy the Presidency,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2020. Less than a year earlier, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, then a federal trial judge, wrote, “Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings.” But former President Donald Trump and his legal team are putting that foundational belief to the test on Thursday when the high court takes up Trump’s bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Trump’s lawyers argue that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for their official acts. Otherwise, they say, politically motivated prosecutions of former occupants of the Oval Office would become routine and presidents couldn’t function as the commander-in-chief if they had to worry about criminal charges. |
Musician T Bone Burnett is trading his dystopian sensibilities for some warmJustin Verlander allows 2 runs over 6 innings in season debut for Astros in 5Africa Energy Indaba highlights prospects of South AfricaChinese scientist awarded for groundbreaking work in transplantation, cellular therapyTravis Scott anxious to break 0Music legend reveals they are working on tellCalifornia is rolling out free preschool. That hasn't solved challenges around child careTaylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department behindJersey Shore: Family Vacation: Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola and exMexican families searching for missing relatives unite to draw attention to their plight