When Donald Trump was hit with four indictments last year, the prevailing Democratic belief was that Mr. Trump would be a convicted felon by Election Day. How could President Biden then possibly lose? Yet trying to defeat Mr. Trump through the courts instead of at the polls has turned out to be one of the great political miscalculations in presidential history.

 

The Supreme Court’s decision last week that the Presidency enjoys constitutional immunity for official acts has more or less sealed the failure of the lawfare election strategy. Mr. Trump can be charged for unofficial conduct, but what parts of the Jan. 6 indictment, if any, are in that category? Lower courts will chew this over, but it’s hard to see a trial before Election Day, or maybe ever if Mr. Trump wins.

 

Is there a hall of fame for political backfires? Democrats cheered on the prosecutions of Mr. Trump, hoping they’d guarantee his defeat. Instead they energized his re-election effort. The first indictment, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, stretched the law to turn misdemeanor bookkeeping offenses into felonies. Almost immediately, Mr. Trump’s support in the GOP primary jumped several points, and in the Real Clear Politics polling average it never again fell below 50%.