The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Kavanaugh says ‘most people’ now revere the Nixon pardon. Not so fast.

Analysis by
Staff writer
April 25, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. EDT
President Richard Nixon shows off Tim, his 6-month-old Irish setter, in 1969 as Gerald Ford, at the time the House minority leader, looks on. (Associated Press)
5 min

It appears unlikely that the Supreme Court will grant Donald Trump the full immunity he claims he’s entitled to as a former president, despite his four indictments.

But the court’s conservative justices on Thursday appeared receptive to the idea that future presidents might need more limited forms of immunity to carry out their duties and not have to worry about politically motivated prosecutions — in a way that could further delay Trump’s trials.