A divided U.S. Supreme Court threw out a judicial decision rejecting Donald Trump's bid to shield himself from federal criminal charges involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in a major ruling on Monday involving the scope of presidential immunity from prosecution.

The historic 6-3 ruling marked the first time since the nation's 18th-century founding that the Supreme Court has declared that former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance.

For the first time, the justices said that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts. But rather than do it themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to figure out precisely how to apply the decision to Trump's case.

Monday's ruling came in Trump's appeal of a lower court decision rejecting his immunity claim. The top court decided the blockbuster case on the last day of its term.

Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election in a rematch from four years ago. The court's slow handling of the blockbuster case already had helped Trump by making it unlikely that any trial on these charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith could be completed before the election.

More to come.