Joe Biden slams US Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling as Donald Trump seeks to overturn hush money convictions
Joe Biden has slammed the US Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, saying it sets a "dangerous precedent" that could turn presidents into kings.
Speaking at the White House, the US President said Monday’s court decision meant Donald Trump was highly unlikely to go on trial before the November 5 election for his role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
It comes amid reports Trump's lawyers have asked for the former US president's conviction in his hush money criminal case to be set aside and his sentencing this month delayed.
The former president’s lawyers have reportedly cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a letter to the New York judge presiding over the trial, which led to Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 11.
The Supreme Court found Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can be for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognising for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
"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," Mr Biden said, reading from a teleprompter.
He said the court's decision meant there were now virtually no limits on what a president could do.
"It's a dangerous precedent, because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law," Mr Biden said. "The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone."
Mr Biden, 81, was making his first set of remarks at the White House since his shaky debate against Trump last week led to calls for him to step aside as the Democratic Party's standard-bearer for the election.
After he stumbled over his words on the Atlanta debate stage, his remarks and comportment are being scrutinized for signs that he is up to the job of running for re-election and of governing the country for four more years.
Mr Biden said he sided with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote she feared for US democracy in her dissent in the 6-3 decision.
"Now the American people will have to do what the court should have been willing to do, but will not. The American people will render judgment on Donald Trump's tenure," Mr Biden said, alluding to the November presidential election.
"I concur with Justice Sotomayor's dissent today," he added. "So should the American people dissent. I dissent. May God bless you all. May God help preserve our democracy," Biden said in closing.
Asked on Fox News about Mr Biden's remarks, House Speaker Mike Johnson called them "despicable" and "dangerous" and accused the president of "trying to undermine the Supreme Court."
Mr Biden is running for re-election against Trump and has been sharply critical of his rival's actions related to the January 6, 2021, raid on the US Capitol by Trump's supporters, who believed Trump's false claims that he had won the 2020 election.
"Now the man who sent that mob to the US Capitol is facing potential criminal conviction for what happened that day. The American people deserve to have an answer in the courts before the upcoming election," Mr Biden said, referring to Trump being charged for his role in spurring the riot.
Mr Biden said the public has a right to know the results of that prosecution before the election in November. "Now, because of today's decision, that is highly, highly unlikely. It's a terrible disservice to the people in this nation."
