‘Dangerous precedent’: Biden denounces court ruling on Trump immunity
Al Jazeera
US president warns Supreme Court’s decision meant there were virtually no limits on what a president could do in office.
President Joe Biden has denounced the United States Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity as a “dangerous precedent” that undermined the rule of law and called on the American people to “dissent” by rejecting Republican candidate Donald Trump in November’s election.
Biden issued the statement shortly after the highest US court ruled that Trump could not be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president but could be for private acts. The decision is seen as a landmark ruling recognising for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
In an address from the White House on Monday, Biden said the court decision meant Trump, his predecessor and challenger, was highly unlikely to go on trial before the November 5 presidential election for his role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election that Biden won.
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each, each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law. Not even the president of the United States,” Biden said.
He said the court’s decision meant there were now virtually no limits on what a president could do.
