Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) contended that presidents of the United States need immunity if they wish to carry out their presidential duties properly.
Presidential immunity has become contentious ahead of an anticipated Supreme Court decision, which could throw former President Donald Trump a lifeline amid his numerous legal battles. When asked if he believed presidents ought to receive presidential immunity, Vance argued that other people in positions of power enjoy “some immunity” and that this should also apply to the role of president.
“We know that the president has to have immunity to do his job,” Vance told Face the Nation. “Should Barack Obama be prosecuted for droning American citizens in Yemen? There are so many examples of presidents, Democrats and Republicans, who would not be able to discharge their duties if the Supreme Court does not recognize some broad element of presidential discretion. I’m very confident that they’re going to be able to do that, and I’m very confident that the fundamental principle here is that the president has to be able to do his job. In the same way that police officers, judges, prosecutors enjoy some immunity, that principle has to apply to the president, too.”
Vance continued that U.S. presidents seeking to jail previous presidents would lead to the “unraveling” of the constitutional tradition in the U.S. and that nobody should be in support of such weaponization of justice.
The Ohio senator was also asked if he would be interested in pursuing criminal charges against President Joe Biden in a hypothetical Trump-Vance presidency. Vance contended that such a duty would be up to the attorney general. He also rebuffed people warning that Trump could weaponize the law against his opponents, saying that Biden is already doing this against Trump.
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