Alaska’s U.S. senators issued restrained responses to the Supreme Court’s ruling that Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for official actions he took as president.
Under close examination, the senators’ statements tilt in opposing directions.
Sen. Dan Sullivan didn’t mention Trump’s name in a social media message, though he supported Trump’s position.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski noted in a written statement that the decision still allows presidents to be held to account for unofficial acts. She said she had hoped to see a resolution to Trump’s charges before the November election, “but we will watch these cases continue through the courts.”
If Trump wins in November, the Justice Department plans to continue to pursue the cases against him until inauguration, on Jan. 20. That’s when a rule forbidding the prosecution of a sitting president would kick in, the Washington Post reports.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
