Trump immunity decision means prosecutions proceed

+ Supreme Court legitimacy tested in Colorado case US Edition - Today's top story: Trump was not king and can be prosecuted for crimes committed while president: Appeals court places limits on immunity [View in browser]( US Edition | 8 February 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( For 25 years, I covered government and politics as a reporter in Maine. Based at the State House, my reporting exposed malfeasance, misfeasance and led to a few miscreant legislators losing their seats. Covering stories that affected the lives of people in my community and state was rewarding work. Now, my colleagues and I on The Conversation’s politics desk follow stories at the national level as well as in states. And for me, there is no more compelling and thrilling kind of story than one that deals with the founding ideals of this nation, how U.S. democracy was designed to work, and whether our leaders are living up to the founders’ ambitions. I got a chance to follow that kind of story a million times this week, when a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down its decision in what’s come to be known as the Trump immunity case. In 57 pages, the judges ruled unanimously that presidents are not immune from criminal prosecution for actions they took while in office. Scholar Claire Wofford, an associate professor of political science at the College of Charleston, and I dived into the decision as soon as we could download it. She read it so she’d have fodder for her story on the decision; I read it for the sheer excitement of the momentous questions, and answers, at hand. Regardless of what you think of it, “the court’s decision, particularly if the Supreme Court allows it to stand, is likely to [have ramifications across the U.S. legal and political systems]( for decades,” writes Wofford. Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Donald Trump speaks after the appeals court hearing on his claim of immunity from prosecution on Jan. 9, 2024, in Washington. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images [Trump was not king and can be prosecuted for crimes committed while president: Appeals court places limits on immunity]( Claire Wofford, College of Charleston Donald Trump has claimed he is immune from prosecution for actions he took as part of his job as president. An appeals court unanimously disagreed, allowing the many prosecutions of Trump to proceed. The U.S. Supreme Court. Larry Crain/ iStock / Getty Images Plus [Supreme Court heads into uncharted, dangerous territory as it considers Trump insurrection case]( Jessica A. Schoenherr, University of South Carolina; Jonathan M. King, West Virginia University With their upcoming decision concerning whether Donald Trump can appear on the Colorado ballot, Supreme Court justices face the possibility that the ruling could be ignored or defied by the public. President Joe Biden at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina on Jan. 8, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images [Biden is campaigning against the Lost Cause and the ‘poison’ of white supremacy in South Carolina]( Joseph Patrick Kelly, College of Charleston During a campaign speech in South Carolina, President Biden made it clear that he is not only running against Donald Trump but also against white supremacy. [Michigan mother convicted of manslaughter for school shootings by her son – after buying him a gun and letting him keep it unsecured]( Thaddeus Hoffmeister, University of Dayton Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty for a school shooting committed by her son; the father faces trial next. 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