Washington:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide Donald Trump's claim to immunity from prosecution based on charges brought by a special counsel related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, further delaying Trump's criminal case as he tries to regain the presidency.
The justices have stayed special counsel Jack Smith's criminal case and will review a lower court's rejection of Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution because he was president when he took actions to overturn President Joe Biden's election victory over him.
Trump's lawyers had requested a stay of that ruling, warning of serious consequences for the presidency if that immunity were not available.
Trump, the first former president to face criminal charges, is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
The case pushes the nation's highest judicial body back into the election fray, as the justices are poised to rule on whether a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that barred Trump from the Republican primary on the basis of a constitutional provision on insurrection, must be annulled.
The justices called for oral arguments the week of April 22 based on a single question: “Whether, and if so, to what extent a former president enjoys presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct that would involve official acts while in office . “
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 3-0 against Trump's immunity claim on February 6, rejecting his request for “unfettered authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results.”
Smith filed four federal charges against Trump in the election subversion case in August 2023. A March 4 trial date was postponed as Trump filed his immunity claim, without a new date yet set. Trials against him are still ongoing in three other criminal cases. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of these cases, attempting to portray them as politically motivated. His lawyers asked the Supreme Court for a question on February 12.
In a filing with the Supreme Court, they said a months-long criminal trial would “radically disrupt” Trump's ability to campaign against Biden. They also warned of serious consequences for future presidents if Trump's prosecution is allowed, including partisan prosecutions, extortion, blackmail and more.
Smith accused Trump of conspiring to defraud the United States, obstructing and conspiring to obstruct the congressional certification of Biden's election victory, and conspiring against Americans' right to vote.
Trump and his allies falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen and devised a plan to use fake electors to thwart Congress' approval of Biden's victory. Trump also tried to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to cancel the certification. Trump's supporters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification.
If Trump regains the presidency, he could try to use his powers to end the prosecution or possibly pardon himself for any federal crimes.
Trump tried to have the charges dismissed last October based on his claim of immunity from criminal prosecution related to actions taken by a president while in office. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed that claim on Dec. 1, prompting an appeal from Trump in the D.C. Circuit.
During arguments in January, one of Trump's lawyers told the three D.C. Circuit judges that even if a president were to sell pardons or military secrets or order a Navy commando unit to kill a political rival, he would not be criminally liable be indicted unless he is first impeached and convicted. in Congress.
In its unanimous decision rejecting Trump's immunity claim, the three-judge panel wrote: “We cannot accept that the office of the presidency places its former occupiers above the law forever afterward.”
The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three Trump-appointed justices.
The justices heard arguments on February 8 in another case involving Trump that had implications for the November election. The justice expressed skepticism toward a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that barred Trump from the state's Republican primary, based on language in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, after finding he was involved in an insurrection in related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Constitution. Capitol by its supporters.
The Colorado and immunity cases have thrust the Supreme Court into the election spotlight in the most direct way since a 2000 ruling that effectively handed the White House to Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.
Trump, who served in the White House from 2017 to 2021, has made sweeping claims of immunity both during his time in office and since leaving the White House.
Smith was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate Trump's actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021. Smith has filed charges against Trump on both issues.
The four pending criminal cases against Trump include the two being prosecuted by Smith, one in a state court in Georgia that also involves his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss, and one in a state court in New York involving hush money payments to a porn star is being paid.
The Supreme Court in 2020 rejected Trump's argument that he was immune from a subpoena issued as part of a state criminal investigation while he was president.
In a separate case, the justices also agreed to decide whether a man involved in the attack on the Capitol can be charged with obstructing an official proceeding — the congressional certification of the 2020 election results. That case has potential implications for Trump , as Smith faces two charges of obstruction.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)