(NewsNation) — The Supreme Court’s Monday decision granting presidents immunity for official actions was a “very reasonable” ruling, according to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff under former President Donald Trump.
Mulvaney told NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” he’s surprised by outrage sparked by the 6-3 decision that will send Trump’s immunity case back to lower courts, as he believes it was “probably the right decision.”
“I’m a little surprised by the ferocity of the pushback on this decision today,” he said.
Trump-era official unsurprised by decision
The former director of the Office of Management and Budget said the decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, was what he expected from the start since it offers only conditional presidential immunity.
“If you go look at the decision, what it says is that for official acts, there’s immunity; for nonofficial acts, there’s not any immunity. And for some things in the middle, we have to wait and see,” Mulvaney said. “I sort of thought that was going to be the result from the very beginning.”
Sotomayor’s dissent, AOC backlash
Mulvaney argued that Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s language in the decision’s dissent was “a little irresponsible,” as she claimed it would allow a president to “use his official power for evil ends” like assassinating a political rival, organizing a military coup or handing out pardons in exchange for bribes.
Along with Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson also dissented from the decision.
“I don’t think anybody is actually taking the position that murdering your political opponents is an official act … I’m not sure anybody really thinks it seriously that the Supreme Court would pass a law or at least render a decision that would make murder okay if done by the president of the United States,” Mulvaney said.
“That’s just not the country we live in,” he added.
Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has announced she intends to file articles of impeachment after the ruling, sharing on X: “Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture. I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return.”
Jan. 6 case, presidential election impact
Monday’s ruling will not stop the case against Trump, but it will delay it. Now, the lower court will have to determine whether Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 were considered official presidential duties and thus immune from prosecution.
“That’s the most likely outcome here. … The case is not over. It’s just not going to take place before the election,” Mulvaney told NewsNation.
On Truth Social, the Trump campaign posted that they considered the ruling a win for the former president.
‘I don’t think this is the end of the world’
The Trump-era official believes this decision is not “the end of the world.”
“But keep in mind, for 40 or 50 years here, there was a majority liberal group on the court that rendered a bunch of decisions that conservatives didn’t like,” he said.
Mulvaney urged Americans to read the decision for themselves rather than relying on politicians’ partisan interpretations, adding: “See if it doesn’t make some sense to you.”