Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) defended the Supreme Court’s ruling last week on presidential immunity, saying the justices had “made clear what the law is.”
Rubio, one of the leading contenders to be former President Trump’s running mate, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Trump was being targeted politically when asked whether he was “comfortable” with the Supreme Court’s ruling. He later appeared to support the Supreme Court’s ruling that gives the president broad immunity for official acts while in office.
“Well, first of all, I’m uncomfortable with the fact that we have a president right now who is targeting his political opponents, which is what happened under Joe Biden,” Rubio said. “I can’t think of a single prominent Democrat who was hounded, harassed, or prosecuted when Donald Trump was president.”
He added: “It’s funny to read these people’s outrageous claims and warnings about the horrible things they would do if Donald Trump were to become president again.”
Rubio repeated a familiar claim made by Trump and his allies, without evidence, that Biden was the driving force behind some of the former president’s legal troubles.
CNN’s Dana Bash disputed Rubio’s statement, noting that the Justice Department has targeted Democrats under the Biden administration, including Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).
“They only go after Democrats who don’t do everything the Democrats want,” Rubio responded.
He then said the justices were clarifying existing law before reiterating that President Trump and his associates were being targeted.
“You can’t sue the president for an official act, and there’s a presumption of immunity for a quasi-official act or a semi-official act, or whatever term they used. They’ve been very clear about that,” Rubio said.
“Look at what they’ve done and what they’ve done in the courts to impeach and convict Donald Trump. They’ve tried to bankrupt him, they’ve tried to silence him, they’ve tried to put him in jail, they’ve gone after his associates every single day,” he added.
Rubio is one of the former president’s vice presidential candidates. Trump has said he has chosen a running mate, but has not made an official announcement.
