Bill Barr Calls Out Justice Sotomayor Over Alleged Fear Mongering on Trump

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr sharply criticized Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor this week following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. The Court ruled that while presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts, they are not protected for unofficial conduct.

Barr's comments came in response to Sotomayor's dissent, where she warned that the decision could make the President "a king above the law." Barr dismissed her concerns as baseless fear mongering.

“There’s absolute immunity when he’s acting directly under the constitution, carrying out a function under the constitution,” Barr explained. “There’s presumptive immunity when he performs an official act, and the government has the burden of showing that it can prosecute him for that without impairing the executive function. And finally, there’s no immunity for unofficial or private acts.”

• Barr argued that Sotomayor intentionally misrepresented the majority’s opinion. He highlighted that the decision simply reinforces the need for a clear legal framework around presidential actions.

• He refuted Sotomayor's extreme examples, like a president using SEAL Team 6 to kill a political opponent, stating, “He doesn’t have the authority to go and assassinate people. So all these horror stories really are false.”

• Barr emphasized that the ruling mandates a proper legal analysis of presidential actions, ensuring that the facts are scrutinized thoroughly before any prosecution.

Sotomayor’s dissent drew significant criticism for suggesting that the ruling could lead to unchecked presidential power. Barr countered that her examples were alarmist and not reflective of the ruling’s intent or implications.

This ruling comes at a critical time as the country prepares for the 2024 presidential election, with former President Donald Trump likely to be a central figure. Barr’s defense of the ruling aims to clarify the limits of presidential immunity and dispel misleading fears about potential abuses of power.

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