Trump legal ruling: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News - our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme:

Trump given legal protection by Supreme Court.

Hello.

I'm Neil. And I'm Beth. And in this programme,

we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

And you can find the headlines and the vocabulary

from this episode, as well as a worksheet, on our website: BBCLearningEnglish.com

So, Neil,

let's hear more about the story.

OK. So, the US Supreme Court has said

that Donald Trump cannot be punished for official actions

he committed as president. Official actions mean work

he did as part of his job when he was president.

And Trump has been charged in four criminal cases,

including attempting to change the results of

the 2020 US presidential election.

But this new ruling means that some of the things he was charged

with are now likely to be seen as official action,

so he may not be prosecuted for them.

That means he may not face the legal consequences, for example, jail.

Now, we have a headline here that describes what has happened.

It's from BBC News:

Trump asks for conviction to be overturned after immunity

ruling.

So, that headline again, from BBC News:

Trump asks for conviction to be overturned after immunity ruling.

So, Trump wants

his conviction to be overturned.

That means he wants the crime

he's been found guilty of to be dismissed

and any others that he may be found guilty of in future.

And this headline tells us that there's been a new immunity ruling

for US presidents, and we're interested in 'immunity'.

Yes, Beth. This word 'immunity' is one that we've heard a lot

in recent years, with the Covid pandemic,

and it's used related to health.

So, for example, if you have immunity from a disease,

it means that you can't get it –

you are protected from it.

And 'immunity' is also used in a legal sense.

So, Trump has been given presidential immunity,

and that means that he is protected for any official acts that were related

to his main constitutional duties when he was the president.

Yeah. So, after this ruling,

even if he did something that is illegal for other Americans,

it can't be considered illegal

if he did it in part of his role or his job as

president. We should add that all US presidents have been given immunity,

so any ex presidents,

the current US president and any future

US presidents will be protected by this law.

So, let's look at this word 'immunity'

and how we use it.

There's some interesting preposition use.

So, we say that you can have 'immunity against' or 'from' a disease,

but a person is given 'immunity from' prosecution – that's in the legal sense.

So, we've looked at 'immunity', which is protection from legal action.

For example: She was given immunity from prosecution

after confessing the names of other gang members.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the Supreme Court's ruling

about US presidents and the law.

Now, this story is ongoing. Trump,

who is a Republican, is running for president at the moment against

the current US president, Democrat

Joe Biden, and this legal ruling

means that if Trump returns to the White House as president,

there are unlikely to be any legal checks on his official actions.

This is something that

some people are very worried about,

and we have a headline about this from Vox. The headline is:

The Supreme Court's Trump immunity decision is a blueprint for dictatorship.

And that again, from Vox: The Supreme Court's Trump immunity decision

is a blueprint for dictatorship. Right.

So, this headline says the decision is a blueprint for dictatorship.

Now, dictatorship is a government run by a leader who has complete power

and hasn't been democratically elected.

We're looking at this word 'blueprint' though,

Beth. Now, literally, a 'blueprint' is a type

of blue paper that has technical designs on it.

So, it's a plan that shows how something could be achieved,

like a building. Yes. So, a 'blueprint' is a plan,

and that is the sense that we have in this metaphorical use in this headline.

So, the headline is saying that this ruling is creating a way

for there to be problems in the future in the US.

Now 'blueprint' here is used in the context of a negative plan,

but it can be used in a neutral or a positive way as well.

So, you could say that a company have made an agreement with staff

and that agreement provides a blueprint to increase wages.

So, we looked at 'blueprint' –

a plan to achieve something. For example:

This scientific study provides the blueprint for a new cancer treatment.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC

Learning English.

We're talking about the Supreme Court ruling which might help Donald Trump

avoid prosecution.

So, we know from our last headline that

some people think this decision is a very negative thing that will lead

to problems, but others have said they think

the decision is right. Now the US Chief Justice,

that is the most powerful judge of the Supreme Court,

said that presidents need immunity for official actions because the threat

of criminal prosecution might influence their decision-making as president.

So, we have a headline about this.

And this is from The Independent. Biden warns Trump can do 'whatever he pleases'

if elected as Republicans relish Supreme Court

immunity ruling. So that

headline again, from The Independent: Biden

warns Trump can do 'whatever he pleases'

if elected as Republicans relish Supreme Court

immunity ruling. And the word

we are looking at is 'relish'.

Beth, I know a word 'relish'.

It's a kind of sauce

you put on your burger, for example,

tomato and onion relish – makes it taste really delicious.

It does! Now

that is the noun, and it might help you to understand this

meaning because if you add relish to your burger, then

it makes you enjoy your burger more. Now 'relish'

here is a verb and it means to really like or enjoy something.

OK. So the headline means

that Republicans are enjoying the fact that Trump has been given immunity.

They relish it. Exactly.

Now, we use this verb 'relish' in a lot of different ways,

usually about actions or abstract nouns.

So, you might relish a challenge, or relish an idea

or the thought of something.

Talking of challenges,

I'm going mountain climbing this weekend, Beth.

I think it might be quite difficult,

but I relish a challenge like this, particularly an outdoor challenge.

Hmm. Good luck!

Well, it's a lovely sunny day

so I am relishing the thought of going out to enjoy the sunshine at lunch.

I might come with you.

So, we've looked at 'relish' which means to like

or enjoy something. So,

for example: My university has courses in Peru.

I relish the thought of studying Spanish for a year.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news

story. And if you have enjoyed this programme,

you can find other episodes of Learning English from the News

on our website.

Don't forget you can find us on social media. Look for BBC

Learning English. Goodbye for now. Bye!