Why Trump Evades the Courts

In its 1982 ruling in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former Air Force management analyst, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the president enjoys absolute immunity in civil cases from damages arising from his official acts. Such immunity, the court held, applies even when the president abuses his discretion. The Supreme Court discouraged civil suits against the President for his official acts to be filed in state courts, observing that state lawsuits against the President would have difficult legal obstacles to overcome. Under longstanding Justice Department policy, sitting Presidents are immune from federal criminal prosecution.