The Supreme Court‘s immunity ruling will allow Donald Trump to do “whatever the heck he wants” if he is elected president, an attorney has said.
Los-Angeles based lawyer John J. Perlstein, told Newsweek that the July 1 Supreme Court ruling will allow Trump total freedom both politically and commercially.
“Given the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, and the power the president yields, Trump will have the ability to do just about whatever the heck he wants. With no checks and balances, his business empire would thrive,” Perlstein said.
He added that Trump’s “children would make billions” from a second Trump term.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen during his civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court in New York City, on January 11, 2024. A legal expert believes Trump will continue to expand his business empire if elected president, despite the civil trial.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump has immunity from core presidential acts and “presumptive immunity” for non-official acts, such as trying to persuade vice president, Mike Pence, not to accept the result of the 2020 presidential election.
Most significantly for Trump’s business empire, it ruled that Trump’s presidential acts cannot be used as evidence by prosecutors charging him for strictly private acts.
That means that Trump’s White House phone calls and conversations would likely not be permitted evidence if the former president was charged with crimes relating to his property empire.
Newsweek sought email comment from Donald Trump‘s attorney and from the Trump campaign on Thursday.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in February that Trump had lied for years about his wealth on documents given to banks, insurers, and others to make deals and secure loans. The judge ordered the former president and the other defendants to pay more than $350 million in penalties—a sum that has now ballooned with interest to over $489 million.
In addition, Engoron banned Trump from holding any directorships for three years and his companies were banned from taking out loans with financial institutions.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were ordered to each pay more than $4 million and were banned from doing business in New York for two years.
Eric Chaffee, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, told Newsweek that, if elected, Trump will likely be able to use the law to protect his business empire from Engoron’s ruling.
“If he is elected to a second term, the public can expect more of the same. He will continue to pursue profit, and he will continue to use the legal avenues at his disposal to attempt to make a profit and protect himself while doing it,” Chaffee told Newsweek.
Trump is currently appealing Engoron’s ruling and some judges on the New York Appellate Court have indicated they might overturn the decision.
During oral arguments on September 26, one judge called the case “troubling” and questioned if it was an example of “mission creep.”
