Former president Donald Trump has been compared to “a king who could do no wrong” during arguments in Supreme Court on Thursday.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing oral arguments over whether Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Michael Dreeben, an attorney representing special counsel Jack Smith, said in court on Thursday: “Such presidential immunity has no foundation in the constitution. The framers knew too well the dangers of a king who could do no wrong.
“They therefore devised a system to check abuses of power, especially the use of official power for private gain. Here the executive branch is enforcing congressional statutes and seeking accountability for petitioners’ alleged misuse of official power to subvert democracy.”
Dreeben told the court that agreeing with Trump’s immunity claims would mean the former president could not be found liable for his several criminal indictments.
Dreeben said: “His novel theory would immunize former presidents for criminal liability for bribery, treason, sedition, murder, and here for conspiring to use fraud to overturn the results of an election and perpetuate himself in power.”
