U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at Donald Trump’s immunity arguments hearing on Thursday questioned whether FDR would have been prosecuted for the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans in camps, which is viewed as an official presidential act.
Discussing previous presidents’ actions that could have been charged with a federal crime without immunity, the conservative justice asked Michael Dreeben, the legal counsel for special counsel Jack Smith, how that would have applied to FDR’s decision.
“What about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II? Wouldn’t that have been charged?” Alito asked Dreeben.
“Today? Yes, given this court’s decision in Trump vs. … Hawaii, excuse me, where the court said Korematsu is overruled,” Dreeben said referring to SCOTUS’ 1944 ruling that upheld the camps.
In arguing that he is immune from criminal prosecution in his federal criminal cases, such as the election interference case, Trump has claimed that his efforts to overturn his …