Harris could move soon to overturn Trump immunity

Vice President and newly minted presidential candidate Kamala Harris appears to be making plans to come after the Supreme Court's immunity decision in the Trump case.

President Joe Biden has already been making waves, calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision.

However, according to a report by Slate, the most contentious part of the issue could be that the reversal of the process could start sooner than initially thought.

History of the Question

Over the course of many years, the breadth of implied presidential immunity has been a source of contention in American constitutional law.

The statement that "when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal" was made by President Richard Nixon in an interview that took place after he had left office. This statement caused David Frost to be taken aback.

Nixon was correct given the specific circumstances that he was describing; this was not due to the fact that the president possessed any monarchical power; rather, it was due to the fact that Congress had limitations on its ability to govern particular acts of the president.

Congress's Role

To the extent that Congress is unable to regulate a presidential power, it is also unable to declare actions that revolve around that power "criminal."

The fundamental limitations that Congress has on its authority to control the president are at the heart of the concept of presidential immunity.

However, immunity is not solely dependent on that issue.

This practice extends immunity beyond that core to provide presidents with the breathing room they require to do their duties effectively.

There is no provision in the Constitution that specifies the amount of breathing room that is required and the Supreme Court has made a decision, acting as a balancing, regarding this matter.

Court's Decision

The Supreme Court has now increased that buffer in the context of allegations of crimes committed by the president. The court reaffirmed that there is no immunity for activities that are not official or that go beyond the "outer perimeter of official responsibility."

If, on the other hand, unofficial acts are pursued through official methods and include fundamental constitutional authorities, then it is possible that the president will not be held accountable for the exercise of that core presidential authority, and it is also possible that evidence from those official acts will not be requested when the crime is being prosecuted.