The decision most likely delays Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case past the election, and if he wins in November, people close to him expect the Justice Department to drop the charges.
A legal system that has dealt Donald J. Trump painful blows over the last six months has just granted him one of the most significant pieces of good news he’s received since his campaign began.
The U.S. Supreme Court, whose conservative supermajority was cemented by Mr. Trump’s nominations, ruled on Monday that the former president is partly shielded from prosecution as he tries to fend off an indictment from the special counsel Jack Smith in connection with Mr. Trump’s efforts to thwart the transfer of power after the 2020 election.
The broad contours of the ruling — that presidents would be entitled to substantial protection for official acts — had been expected by political and court watchers for months. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump trumpeted it as a victory.
“Big win for our constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in all capital letters.
The decision means that a trial in the case will almost certainly be pushed back until after the November election — and, should Mr. Trump win, the Justice Department is almost certain to drop the case, according to people close to Mr. Trump.
For President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is seeking a second term, the ruling was not the outcome that would have been most beneficial in his efforts to describe Mr. Trump as dangerous; that would have been an affirmation of the indictment. Mr. Biden’s team immediately highlighted the ruling as evidence of the existential threat that the incumbent president has said his predecessor and possible successor poses to the country.
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