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The court said Trump must be presumed innocent of any other crimes committed while president unless he acts solely in a private capacity. So if Trump were to kill a White House gardener in a fit of rage he might be indicted, but not if he arranges for the CIA or FBI to have him arrested and imprisoned. So Trump and future presidents are, for the first time in American history, above the law.
What is likely to happen next week? Trump has not made his previous mistake of retaining bad lawyers – bad because they were incompetent (60 of their 61 motions were thrown out) and morally bad as well (so far, no less than 14 of them have been convicted or indicted or disbarred for filings that they knew to be false). Trump has hinted at “a little secret” plan cooked up with the leader of Congress. My guess is that, should he lose, it will be a challenge to the certification of the election next January by the president of the Senate.
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The Senate president in 2020 and Trump’s vice president was Mike Pence, who refused his demands and certified Joe Biden’s victory. But this time, the Senate president is Kamala Harris, and Trump’s lawyers may ask the Supreme Court to remove her. There are good legal answers, but with “the six” you never can tell. Just two days ago, as if in rehearsal, they decided to help Trump by resurrecting a decision by the Republican governor of Virginia to intrusively vet ballots from overseas. This had been struck down by a federal judge but, by 6-3, and without argument, the order was reinstated just in time for the election.
If Trump clearly wins, Harris, like Al Gore, will concede defeat. But this time, Trump would be the first president in American history who could commit crimes with impunity. He has claimed to have many enemies whom he has threatened to prosecute, and his vengeance could not be deterred by the threat of indictment. America, famously self-styled a government of laws not men, will be governed by an untouchable.