In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers.

Core constitutional powers include appointing ambassadors and foreign governments, among others.

Former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts.

“The president enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. “The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution.”

“When [the president] uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution,” wrote Justice Sonya Sotomayor in her dissent.

“Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune. Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends. Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today.

“Even if these nightmare scenarios never play out, and I pray they never do, the damage has been done. The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.

“With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

The Supreme Court will send the case back to the lower courts for further proceedings, although it does offer some guidance.

The liberal justices – Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson – dissented.

The 119-page decision can be found here.

This is a breaking story and will be updated