U.S. Supreme Court weighs extent of immunity for former presidents like Trump [Video]

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Thursday questioned a lawyer for Donald Trump about the former president’s claim of immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, posing hypotheticals about what happens if a president accepts a bribe, sells nuclear secrets or orders a political assassination.

Lower courts rejected Trump’s request to be shielded from four election-related criminal charges on the grounds that he was serving as president when he took the actions that led to the indictment obtained by special counsel Jack Smith, assigned to that investigation by the Justice Department.

WATCH l Hearing has potential implications for future presidents: Lawrence Douglas, a law professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, walks through the case in which justices will evaluate former president Donald Trump’s bid for immunity from prosecution over his role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

It’s new territory for the top court, as a president has never faced criminal charges before …