Concerned

Justice Jackson tells CBS she’s ‘concerned’ about Trump immunity ruling

By John Fritze

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told CBS News that she is “concerned” about the court’s divisive decision to grant sweeping immunity to former President Donald Trump because it treats one person differently than others in the criminal justice system.

“I was concerned about a system that appeared to provide immunity for one individual under one set of circumstances when we have a criminal justice system that had ordinarily treated everyone the same,” Jackson told “CBS News Sunday Morning”in an interview, part of which will air Tuesday.

Jackson’s remarks, which come as she promotes a new memoir to be released next week, were in response to a question about the court’s decision on July 1 to grant broad immunity to the former president. A 6-3 majority of the court ruled that Trump may claim immunity from criminal prosecution for some of his official actions.

Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, dissented from that decision.

The reverberations of the ruling are still being felt in the criminal cases pending against Trump. The Supreme Court’s decision has delayed special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal case against the GOP presidential nominee for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled, could still be prosecuted for unofficial actions. A District Court in Washington, DC, will hold a hearing on next steps in that case next week.

The court is also going to face a flurry of expected election litigation this fall.

Asked by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell whether she is ready, Jackson said she is “as prepared as anyone can be.”

“I think there are legal issues that arise out of the political process,” Jackson said, according to an excerpt of the interview provided by CBS. “And so, the Supreme Court has to be prepared to respond – if – if that should be necessary.”

Jackson’s memoir, “Lovely One,” is set to be released on September 3.