The Daily Fuckup

On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a legal win that was real but narrower than the victory lap his allies wanted. The court said former presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution for official acts within their exclusive constitutional authority, presumptively immune for other official acts, and not immune for unofficial conduct. It also said evidence tied to immune official acts cannot be used in ways that would let prosecutors or juries do indirectly what the ruling bars directly. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/603us1r57_6k47.pdf))

That did not end the federal Jan. 6 case. Instead, it sent the matter back to the lower court to sort out which parts of the indictment involve official acts, which parts do not, and how the evidence rules apply. The Supreme Court itself said the first step is to distinguish official from unofficial actions, because no court below had yet done that work. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/603us1r57_6k47.pdf))

Trump’s team and supporters quickly tried to turn the ruling into something bigger than it was, treating partial immunity like a total escape hatch. But the decision was not an exoneration, and it did not dismiss the charges. The Associated Press noted that none of Trump’s pending cases were thrown out as a result of the ruling. ([ap.org](https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/fact-focus-trump-wasnt-exonerated-by-the-presidential-immunity-ruling-even-though-he-says-he-was/))

The practical effect was messier than the political messaging. The ruling forced prosecutors and the judge to rework the case around the official-versus-unofficial line, which is now the central fight. That may slow the prosecution, but delay is not dismissal. The court gave Trump a stronger shield for some conduct, not a blanket pardon for everything he did after losing the 2020 election. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/603us1r57_6k47.pdf))

That distinction matters because Trump’s legal strategy depends on collapsing procedure into vindication. Here, the court drew the opposite line: some presidential conduct is protected, some is not, and a lower court has to decide where the allegations land. For Trump, the ruling was a short-term boost. For the Jan. 6 case, it was a reset, not a burial. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/603us1r57_6k47.pdf))