On Monday U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision granting former President Donald Trump broad immunity from criminal charges related to official acts:
“The Supreme Court has put lawbreaking presidents like Donald Trump above the law. This cravenly political decision to shield President Trump grants him a legal armor that no other citizen enjoys. The net effect is not only to delay Trump’s criminal trial, but bestow an unwise and unjust broad shield for him and other presidents who flout and flagrantly abuse their office. This is a license for authoritarianism.”
“My stomach turns with fear and anger that our democracy can be so endangered by an out-of-control Court. The members of Court’s conservative majority will now be rightly perceived by the American people as extreme and nakedly partisan hacks – politicians in robes.”
Attorney General William Tong released the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States involving presidential immunity: “Today, the Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s absurd claim of absolute immunity from all criminal prosecution. It affirmed that presidents can be prosecuted for crimes committed in their private capacity – like Trump’s fake slates of electors. But the Court gave Trump – and all future presidents – far too much unrestrained power for so-called official acts. "Even the president – especially the president – must be accountable for abusing the office’s enormous power. "Like the dissent, and like well-meaning people across this country, I am concerned today for our democracy – because Donald Trump poses an unprecedent threat to the rule of law, and because the Supreme Court has failed to restrain him. But I remain hopeful. By unnecessarily delaying this decision, the Supreme Court postponed justice for far too long. Now the District Court must move forward quickly to apply the new, imperfect test – and to hold Donald Trump accountable for his crimes."