Padilla Statement on Supreme Court Decision Granting Trump Partial Immunity From Criminal Prosecution
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the Supreme Court granted former President Donald Trump partial immunity from criminal prosecution in the Trump v. United States ruling:
“Today, former President Trump’s handpicked justices have cast aside our nation’s bedrock principle of the rule of law, afforded future presidents carte blanche to abuse the powers of their office for political and personal gain, and laid the foundation for Donald Trump to have absolute authority in a potential second term.
“Before today, America’s judicial system was rooted in the simple but fundamental principle that no one is above the law. Not Congress, not the courts, and not even the President of the United States. Today’s decision turns that most fundamental principle on its head.
“If brazenly attempting to overturn a democratic election by claiming the powers of the presidency can be a so-called ‘official’ act of the president, then where does it end? If a former president who has fomented an insurrection at our Capitol and who now promises to serve as a dictator on day one back in office can avoid accountability in a court of law, then as Justice Sotomayor stated, I too ‘fear for our democracy.’”
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