Do you know which other Americans have immunity from criminal law at all times, forever? Absolutely no one. This is different than qualified immunity, judicial immunity, prosecutorial immunity, etc. Those only bar civil suits. Freestanding immunity from criminal law is unprecedented in the U.S.
An important point about SCOTUS's decision is it is not based on a statute or a special emergency like wartime. They held, without any textual basis, that the Constitution requires that the President be immune from criminal prosecution for "official" acts at all times, forever.
The only situation comparable to the Supreme Court's newfound doctrine of presidential immunity from criminal law is diplomatic immunity. SCOTUS has decided that the President, who unlike a diplomat has enormous power in the U.S., is, under the law, outside and above America. Frightening.
Further, diplomatic immunity is a product of international negotiations and authorized by statute (22 U.S. Code § 2728). It could be repealed by Congress at any moment. But, short of a constitutional amendment, presidential immunity from criminal law is with us forever.
