Biden backs lifting Trump's immunity in Supreme Court shake-up

US President says he shares 'founders' belief that a president must answer to the law'

US President Joe Biden has called for an amendment to the constitution to ensure presidents are not above the law. Reuters

US President Joe Biden on Monday proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that would ensure Donald Trump can face trial and end lifetime terms on the Supreme Court.

Mr Biden called for an amendment to the US Constitution that “makes clear no president is above the law”, after judges ruled Mr Trump has partial immunity as a former commander-in-chief.

“If a future president incites a violent mob to storm the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of power – like we saw on January 6, 2021 – there may be no legal consequences,” Mr Biden wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.

“And that’s only the beginning.”

A Supreme Court overhaul proposed by Mr Biden would see judges appointed to 18-year terms at regular intervals and given a new code of conduct.

Passing the reforms will be a tall order given the difficulty of amending the constitution, which has not been changed since 1992, and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

But the White House said Mr Biden, who is no longer running for a second term, is backing the “bold reforms” to fix a “crisis of confidence in America’s democratic institutions”.

The court reforms would replace the “arbitrary” system in which “any single presidency radically alters the make-up of the court for generations to come”, Mr Biden wrote.

Judges are appointed with lifetime terms, meaning vacancies come up whenever they happen to retire or die in office.

Mr Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was able to fill three vacancies during his 2017 to 2021 term, shifting the court to a conservative majority that has allowed for several major decisions in the past few years.

The repeal of Roe v Wade in 2022 ended the right to abortion.

Other recent decisions have included curtailing the power of federal agencies to interpret laws relevant to them and striking down a ban on bump stocks, which increase the shooting speed of assault rifles.

Facing several criminal trials, Mr Trump scored another Supreme Court win this month when judges ruled former presidents have some immunity.

“Each of us is equal before the law," Mr Biden said on Monday.

"No one is above the law and for all practical purposes, the court's decision almost certainly means that the president can violate their oath, flout our laws and face no consequences.

“A president is no longer constrained by the law, and limits on abuse of power will be self-imposed by the president alone.

"That's a fundamentally flawed view and a fundamentally flawed principle, a dangerous principle.”

Mr Biden is proposing a “No One Is Above The Law” amendment, clarifying that the constitution “does not confer any immunity” on former presidents.

“I share our founders' belief that a president must answer to the law,” he said at the Lyndon B Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.

“The president is accountable for the exercise of the great power of the presidency.

“We're a nation of laws, not kings and dictators.”

The immunity debate does not cover Mr Trump's conviction in a hush-money scheme in New York, which was a matter of state rather than federal law.

But Mr Biden believes that “the president's power is limited – not absolute – and must ultimately reside with the people”, the White House said.

The White House said “recent ethics scandals”, such as gifts given to Justice Clarence Thomas, have put the “fairness and independence” of the Supreme Court in doubt.

Mr Biden said the court needs a mandatory code of ethics.

“The code of conduct for Supreme Court judges would require them to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or a spouse has an interest.”

The court did not have a formal code of ethics until last year, when the justices adopted one amid criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but it lacks enforcement.

There have only been 27 amendments to the US Constitution in its more than 200-year history, and only one since the civil rights era.

An amendment usually needs a two-thirds majority in Congress, followed by backing from three quarters of the states, either through their legislatures or special conventions.

An alternative method that bypasses Congress has never been used.