Supreme Court should consider presidential immunity for Trump, Ohio attorney general says
Erin Glynn
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has weighed in on a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning presidential immunity and former president Donald Trump.
Yost filed an amicus brief, a court filing with advice or information related to a particular case from parties with a strong interest in the outcome, in Trump v. United States on Tuesday. The brief was filed with attorneys general from Wyoming and Alaska to support Trump's argument that he has presidential immunity from criminal charges related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Yost said in a news release Tuesday that the country's founders understood "a president cannot fulfill the oath of office without reasonable immunity from criminal charges" and added that presidential immunity is broad, but not unlimited.
Which Trump court case is this?
In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four counts related to his actions on Jan. 6, 2021:
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- Conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
- Obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
- Conspiracy against rights.
Trump has argued he cannot be prosecuted for official acts as president, so the question before the court is whether Trump has presidential immunity for his actions on Jan. 6.
What did Yost argue?
Yost suggested a two-part legal test for the court to decide whether to apply presidential immunity.
The first consideration would be how closely the acts the president is accused of are to the president's powers under the Constitution.
The second consideration would be whether the president needed to take action based on the urgency of the situation.
"To decide whether a President is immune from a criminal charge under this part of the inquiry, fact finding will determine whether the situation demanded the President’s actions," the attorneys general said in the brief.
When will the case be decided?
The court will hear oral arguments the week of April 22.
Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.