Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf
Page Number: 27.0

Cite as:  603 U. S. ____ (2024) 

19 

Opinion of the Court 

that an action was unlawful,” depriving immunity of its in-
tended effect.  Ibid. 

B 
With these principles in mind, we turn to the conduct al-

leged in the indictment. 

1 
The  indictment  broadly  alleges  that  Trump  and  his  co-
conspirators  sought  to  “overturn  the  legitimate  results  of
the  2020  presidential election.”    App.  183,  Indictment  ¶7. 
It  charges  that  they  conspired  to  obstruct  the  January  6
congressional  proceeding  at  which  electoral  votes  are 
counted and certified, and the winner of the election is cer-
tified as President-elect.  Id., at 181–185, ¶¶4, 7, 9.  As part
of this conspiracy, Trump and his co-conspirators allegedly 
attempted to leverage the Justice Department’s power and 
authority to convince certain States to replace their legiti-
mate  electors  with  Trump’s  fraudulent  slates  of  electors. 
See id., at 215–220, ¶¶70–85.  According to the indictment, 
Trump  met  with  the  Acting  Attorney  General  and  other
senior Justice Department and White House officials to dis-
cuss investigating purported election fraud and sending a
letter from the Department to those States regarding such
fraud.  See, e.g., id., at 217, 219–220, ¶¶77, 84.  The indict-
ment further alleges that after the Acting Attorney General 
resisted Trump’s requests, Trump repeatedly threatened to 
replace him.  See, e.g., id., at 216–217, ¶¶74, 77.

The Government does not dispute that the indictment’s
allegations  regarding  the  Justice  Department  involve
Trump’s “use of official power.”  Brief for United States 46; 
see id., at 10–11; Tr. of Oral Arg. 125.  The allegations in
fact plainly implicate Trump’s “conclusive and preclusive” 
authority.  “[I]nvestigation  and  prosecution  of  crimes  is  a
quintessentially  executive  function.”    Brief  for  United 
States  19  (quoting  Morrison  v.  Olson,  487  U. S.  654,  706