Quigley Statement on Supreme Court’s Decision on Presidential Immunity

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity:

“As Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent, today’s decision ‘makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law.’

“It’s difficult to overstate what a disastrous decision this is for our Democracy. If a president can immunize themselves from prosecution by claiming they acted under the banner of official responsibilities, then we no longer have a President: we have a King.

“While Chief Justice Roberts argues that the Court has carved out only a narrow immunity, that is simply not the case. The Court has invented an extreme constitutional privilege of the presidency that is simply not supported in the text, not supported historically and makes no sense to any American with a basic understanding of our system of government.

“We also have to acknowledge that choosing to send this decision back to the lower courts all but ensures that Donald Trump’s January 6 trial will not take place before the election. Since the Court also reaffirmed in its decision that a sitting President is immune from prosecution, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court has all but immunized Trump from prosecution for his actions to forcibly overturn the 2020 election. It is more important now than ever that we defeat Donald Trump in November.

“That is not justice. To quote Justice Sotomayor once again, ‘With fear for our democracy, I dissent.’”