Washington, 2 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - In a significant partial win for former US president Donald Trump, the US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that presidents have presumed immunity from prosecution for official acts while in office.

The judges returned the case, an appeal of an earlier ruling, to the lower court and instructed that court to determine how the decision should be applied to Trump's case.

This is likely to further delay the start of a possible trial against Trump for attempted election fraud in the US capital Washington in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by Trump's supporters. It is considered unlikely that the trial will start before the presidential election in November.

The Supreme Court justices ruled 6-3 that former presidents enjoy immunity for actions they take within their constitutional authority, but do not for actions taken in a private capacity.

Biden denounces Supreme Court decision

US President Joe Biden criticized the Supreme Court's ruling, calling it a "dangerous precedent."

"Today's decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits to what the president can do," Biden said in a short address at the White House on Monday evening.

Biden warned that every president, including his predecessor and potential successor Trump, will now be free to ignore the law.

The Supreme Court's decision had created a "fundamentally new principle," he added.

"The power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court in the United States, the only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone.”

US Media: Trump seeks to overturn hush money conviction

According to US media, Trump is attempting to overturn his conviction in New York following the Supreme Court's ruling.

Shortly after the decision, Trump's lawyers reportedly initiated the process by writing to the judge in New York, CNN and the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources.

According to the reports, the lawyers also asked the judge to delay his sentencing scheduled for July 11.

In late May, Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges in a criminal case concerning hush money payments in New York.

It was the first time in the history of the US that a former president had been convicted of a criminal offence. In the worst case, Trump could face several years in prison.

Trump's legal immunity case returns to lower court

It is now up to the competent lower court to find out which actions Trump's immunity applies to. This is likely to be a lengthy process.

Before the storming of the Capitol, Trump had attempted on various levels to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and reverse his defeat against Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump's lawyers argued that Trump could not be legally prosecuted for actions that were part of his duties as president.

They had already failed with this argument before an appeals court in the US capital. The judge in charge of the case had also previously rejected this argument. Trump's lawyers filed an appeal, which is why the case ended up before the Supreme Court.

MIA file photo