Donald Trump's looming showdown in the Supreme Court over his claims to immunity from prosecution could be "carte blanche for a dictatorship," an expert has warned.
A federal appeals panel ruled on Tuesday that the former president can face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rejecting his claims that he is immune from prosecution. Trump’s team has vowed to appeal, which could postpone the case by weeks or months, and could be taken up by the Supreme Court.
But the case going to the Republican packed Supreme Court could have terrible consequences for the US, one expert warned.
Professor Inderjeet Parmar, head of the Department of International Politics at City, University of London, told the Mirror: "The matter will likely end up at the US Supreme Court and that could be a quite momentous occasion in the history of the USA and in its impact on the election, US domestic politics, and world affairs. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 justices, three appointed by Trump as president, and a 6-3 conservative/right-wing majority."
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Trump is facing an avalanche of legal challenges (Getty Images)Despite the right wing dominance in the court, the professor says it doesn't guarantee it will favour Trump. But if they did it could open the door to a dark future for the US. He continued: "Should the [court] rule that a former president is immune from prosecution for criminal offences committed while in office, it would violate the entire principle of the rule of law, equality before the law regardless of rank or status.
"It would be carte blanche for a dictatorship in which the president could rule whose votes counted and whose did not (as Trump tried to do after November 2020)."
The ongoing saga continues to affect the US' standing in the world. Professor Parmar said: "The spectacle – on full display for the world to see – has done nothing to bolster world confidence in American power and standing. It undermines it among its own allies and creates further stress and strife at home.
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Riot police push back a crowd of Trump supports during the storming of the Capitol (AFP via Getty Images)"Trump is the leader of a far-right party at the head of the world's most powerful state that lays claim to be a beacon, a shining example, for others to follow. Right now, it is the state in which the most severe symptoms of crisis and breakdown are centred."
Tuesday’s unanimous ruling is the second time since December that judges have held that Trump can be prosecuted for actions undertaken while in the White House and in the run-up to January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
A man calls on people to raid the building as Trump supporters clash with police and security forces (AFP via Getty Images)The opinion, which had been expected given the scepticism with which the panel greeted the Trump team’s arguments, was unsparing in its repudiation of Trump’s novel claim that former presidents enjoy absolute immunity for actions that fall within their official job duties.
Writing on his Truth Social after the court's decision, Trump said: "Without Presidential Immunity, the Presidency will lose its power and prestige, and under some Leaders, have no power at all. The Presidency will be consumed by the other Branches of Government. THAT IS NOT WHAT OUR FOUNDERS WANTED!"
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