User blog comment:James12708/Why Exactly is Sheperd on Earth if Arrival Wasn't Completed/@comment-4967682-20121202110330/@comment-4967682-20121202182221

The very next scene is them renouncing the claim they just made, reinstating your Spectre status, and saying they give you their support (well... emotionally I guess). So no, it doesn't make any sense.

I'm pretty sure being a serial killer is a capital offense. Saren got away with that and more because he was effective and, oh yeah, a Spectre. A Spectre is supposed to be above the law as long as his or her methods work; Shepard managed to wipe out the entire Collector threat and then give Cerberus the finger after getting explicit approval from the Council to do so.