McClellan Statement on Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Decision

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States: 

“Today, the Supreme Court drastically shifted the relationship and power dynamic between the Office of the President of the United States, the judicial branch, and the American people. The Court asserts that all of a President’s official acts – the exercise of “core constitutional powers” – are granted some level of immunity, whether presumptive or absolute. 

“The extreme conservative majority, three of whom the former President appointed, lay out an extremely vague model to determine presidential immunity that effectively places the President of the United States above the law, regardless of motive or intent. As Justice Sotomayor acknowledges in her dissent, any President can now leverage presidential immunity to ‘place his interests, his own political survival, or his own financial gain above the interests of the Nation.” In theory, the President could now claim immunity from ordering the assassination of a political rival, launching a military coup to hold onto power, or accepting a bribe in exchange for a presidential pardon.

“This decision sets a dangerous precedent for the future of our nation, eviscerates our system of checks and balances, and disregards the structural vision set forth by the Founders in the U.S. Constitution. It is a blatant threat to the very fabric of our democracy. No one, including the President of the United States, should be allowed to act with absolute impunity; however, the Trump-appointed majority on the Supreme Court effectively elevated the President of the United States above the law.”