Court rulings deal Trump a pair of losses — and 'both are likely to be upheld': experts

A pair of court rulings dealt Donald Trump devastating losses in two separate cases and could impact future presidents, as well.

The rulings answered important questions about executive branch accountability that the U.S. Supreme Court has never addressed because no other president has acted so brazenly, and legal experts explained their impact to Vice News.

“The rulings are extremely important,” said Paul Rosenzweig, who served as a member of Ken Starr’s investigation team during the Bill Clinton probe. “They make it more likely that Trump will be in court. They reaffirm the idea that all people are equal under the law.”

District judge Tanya Chutkan last week knocked down Trump's claim of presidential immunity in the Washington D.C., election subversion case, saying the position did "not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass," although Trump on Thursday asked to pause the case entirely until his appeals were heard.

“The rulings by the Court of Appeals and Judge Chutkan on Friday offer important confirmation of the principle that a former president is not above the law,” said former federal prosecutor Harry Sandick. “While there may be limits on whether a president can be prosecuted for a crime while he or she is in office, these limits do not apply to former presidents.”

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The Department of Justice has long held that it cannot charge a sitting president with crimes before the end of their term, but Chutkan’s 48-page ruling put Trump and future presidents on notice that they cannot escape prosecution forever.

“The right answer,” said Rosenzweig, “is that all criminal acts are, by definition if proven, outside the scope of presidential official conduct and thus not immune.”

Another judge also issued a ruling last week that Trump could be sued by police officers injured in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and Rosenzweig said he expects both rulings to stand.

“I think both are likely to be upheld,” Rosenzweig said. “The real question for the criminal cases is: How quickly? Can it be resolved before the March trial date? I think so… but just barely.”