Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Thursday that he doesn’t think presidents should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office as the Supreme Court hears arguments on the issue.
The Kentucky Republican also told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that he stands by his acquittal vote and comments he made when he voted against impeachment of former President Donald Trump in the Senate trial after he was impeached by the House in 2021. Attack on the Capitol on January 6.
“President Trump is still responsible for everything he has done while in office. … He hasn’t gotten away with anything yet,” McConnell In 2021, he said, he added, “We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. Former presidents are not immune to being either [held] is responsible for both”.
“So [still] in my opinion,” McConnell said Thursday as the Supreme Court to heard arguments Trump’s lawyers and federal prosecutors on whether the former president could face charges for wrongdoing while in office.
“But my opinion is only my opinion. I mean, the court will decide,” McConnell added.
Thursday’s Supreme Court arguments stem from federal charges that Trump illegally interfered with the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has argued that he has absolute immunity from prosecution for his actions while president, and so does the court is appointed to make a decision the scope of presidential immunity.
“The president clearly needs some kind of immunity or he would be in court all the time,” McConnell said. But he said he doesn’t think it necessarily should, as Trump claims.
“I’m not on the Supreme Court. I can’t make the final decision on that,” McConnell told Welkere.
Senate Republican leader A few days later, both chambers of the Congress also spoke about the telephone conversation he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the day before. It has approved more than $60 billion in aid For Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
McConnell told Welker that Zelensky was “grateful because he knew the big problem was in my party. And I think it was nice of him to point out that we had more votes than we had a few months ago.” The Senate voted is a separate event This includes Ukrainian aid. The measure later died in the House.