The short answer is, SCOTUS is saying they will decide whether a POTUS can be prosecuted. They said core official acts are absolutely immune, other official acts are presumptively immune, official acts should be subjected to the broadest possible interpretation, private acts are not immune. But they did not define what any of that means …
The short answer is, SCOTUS is saying they will decide whether a POTUS can be prosecuted. They said core official acts are absolutely immune, other official acts are presumptively immune, official acts should be subjected to the broadest possible interpretation, private acts are not immune. But they did not define what any of that means or what acts might be which. They also said official acts cannot be used as evidence to prosecute private acts, and that courts cannot question the president's motives. A prosecutor would have to try define every act and every piece of evidence, articulate why they were all private, then send it to the supreme court to see if they agreed with the categorization of every action or piece of evidence as private. THIS SCOTUS will define those terms however they wish, depending, I assume, on their political preferences. I think in practical terms it makes any president immune from prosecution for acts committed while in office.
The short answer is, SCOTUS is saying they will decide whether a POTUS can be prosecuted. They said core official acts are absolutely immune, other official acts are presumptively immune, official acts should be subjected to the broadest possible interpretation, private acts are not immune. But they did not define what any of that means or what acts might be which. They also said official acts cannot be used as evidence to prosecute private acts, and that courts cannot question the president's motives. A prosecutor would have to try define every act and every piece of evidence, articulate why they were all private, then send it to the supreme court to see if they agreed with the categorization of every action or piece of evidence as private. THIS SCOTUS will define those terms however they wish, depending, I assume, on their political preferences. I think in practical terms it makes any president immune from prosecution for acts committed while in office.