How Trump’s presidential immunity claims could backfire and imperil Republicans: analysis

It remains to be seen what the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately rule in response to former President Donald Trump's absolute immunity argument.

Trump claims that because he was still president in late 2020 and early 2021, he enjoys absolute immunity from prosecution in special counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case. The nine justices listened to oral arguments for and against Trump's claim on Thursday, April 25, and until the High Court makes a decision, Smith's case is in limbo.

The New Republic's Michael Tomasky, in an article published on April 29, warns Republicans that if the Supreme Court agreed with Trump's immunity argument, it would be bad for the GOP as well as Democrats.

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Tomasky lays out a scenario in which a present or future Democratic president would weaponize absolute immunity status against Republicans.

"If this Court were to give presidents a grant of immunity for official acts," Tomasky writes, "(President Joe) Biden should most certainly use the occasion to play some hardball. Make some threats about what he might do with this power. Get the American public thinking about some things they just don't think about enough, leading public opinion in the direction of reforming aspects of our democratic system that badly need reform."

Tomasky continues, "Take the Electoral College. Democrats have won seven of the last eight presidential elections, in popular vote terms, but this archaic and reactionary system that was put into place to give presidential candidates from slave-holding states an advantage has helped elect two Republicans who lost the popular vote."

The New Republic staff writer isn't arguing that Biden would automatically abuse "absolute immunity" if given the chance. Rather, his point is that Democratic presidents could also abuse their power if the U.S. Supreme Court undermines the United States' system of checks and balances.

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"OK. We all know Biden is not going to do that," Tomasky writes. "He's too respectful of tradition, and Democrats are too fearful of the right-wing noise machine."

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Michael Tomasky's full article for The New Republic is available at this link.