Joe Biden has described as a “dangerous precedent” a Supreme Court ruling giving former President Donald Trump partial immunity from criminal prosecution.
The current US president said the judgement undermined the “rule of law” and was “a terrible disservice” to Americans.
Earlier, Trump hailed the court’s decision as a “big win” for democracy.
The justices found on Monday that a president had immunity for “official acts” but was not immune for “unofficial acts”, and referred the matter back to a trial judge.
The judgement will further delay the criminal case against Trump for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election result that gave victory to Mr Biden.
The trial judge must now determine which actions were carried out in Trump’s capacity as president, which could take months. Any trial is unlikely to start before November’s presidential election.
President Biden said: “This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law. Not even the president of the United States.
“Today’s [court] decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president may do.
“The man who sent that mob to the US Capitol is facing potential criminal conviction for what happened that day. The American people deserve to have an answer in the courts before the upcoming election.”
Mr Biden was referring to Trump being on trial for his alleged role in stirring up the riot.
“Now, because of today’s [court] decision, that is highly, highly unlikely,” Mr Biden said.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the trial judge must now determine which actions were carried out in Trump’s capacity as president, which could take months. Any trial is unlikely to start before the 5 November election.
This is a huge boost for Donald Trump – a “big win” as he put it on his social media platform Truth Social.
The Supreme Court ruled that all former presidents have partial immunity from criminal prosecution – total immunity applies to acts carried out as part of the president’s official duties, but “unofficial acts,” in a private capacity, are not covered.
