Trump's D.C. prosecution on charges of trying to stop Joe Biden's victory is on hold while a judge considers his immunity request, high court rules Trump to stand trial This will determine whether and how soon the case will go to trial.
The justices' decision to accept Trump's arguments rather than leave the appeals court's decision that he could be prosecuted drew criticism for delaying the trial, which was originally scheduled to begin in early March. There is.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, is seeking to postpone the D.C. trial and other legal challenges he faces until after his rematch with Biden in the general election. If Trump is elected president again, he could appoint an attorney general to seek dismissal of the federal lawsuit.
The justices can rule on the immunity issue any time after hearing arguments on April 25, and are expected to do so by the end of their term in late June or early July. That would push any trial to at least late summer or fall.
Additionally, the Supreme Court will next week consider the validity of a law used to bring obstruction charges against hundreds of people in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. This is also an important element. The D.C. charges Trump is facing.
In Monday's immunity case filed by the special counsel, Smith called Trump's immunity a “radical proposal” that would allow the former president to escape responsibility for crimes such as murder and bribery. The department pushed back. Smith added that the criminal justice system includes many safeguards to ensure the law is applied fairly, including to former presidents.
“These layers of protection ensure that prosecutions are reviewed against rigorous standards, and that any president can hold himself accountable with the understanding that he will be subject to prosecution if he commits a federal crime. It ensures that there is no need to flinch in its execution,” Smith wrote.
President Trump faces four felonies in connection with what prosecutors allege is a plot to thwart Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election: conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States; Conspiracy to obstruct formal recognition, obstruction of parliamentary proceedings, conspiracy against rights – in this case the right to vote.
He asked the judge to reverse the appellate court's unanimous ruling that he could be indicted on those charges.
Trump's lawyers said in a brief filed last month: He said the president's official acts, including those alleged in the indictment, should be protected from criminal prosecution.of When the threat of prosecution and imprisonment hangs over a president's head, they write, it takes away the “strength, authority, and decisiveness” of those who hold the office.
“If the President were to be criminally prosecuted for his official conduct after leaving office, he would be unable to function and the office itself would be unable to maintain its critical independence,” the filing said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's decision on this matter took a very different position: “Any executive immunity that may have protected him while he was president no longer protects him from this prosecution.”
“We cannot accept former President Trump's assertion that the president has unlimited authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power: the recognition and enforcement of election results,” the committee concluded. .
When the Supreme Court agreed to take the immunity action in late February, the justices said the issue to be decided was whether the former president should be protected from criminal prosecution for his alleged conduct during the presidential campaign. “To what extent can they enjoy immunity, and if so, how much immunity can they enjoy?” his tenure. ”
This question would appear to give courts leeway to distinguish between a president's private and official conduct, but lower appellate court decisions do not.
If the Supreme Court The case could be sent back to a lower court for additional litigation over whether Trump's alleged activities are official, potentially dragging the case into the post-election period.
Trump's lawyers noted in their brief that no court has addressed whether immunity applies to the conduct alleged in the indictment, and that they are looking forward to “further fact-finding regarding the specifics of this case.” He said the matter could be sent back.
Smith also mentioned the possibility that a judge could grant the former president some immunity for his official actions. This protection does not apply to President Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, Smith wrote. Part of the reason is that President Trump is suspected of using public power to achieve his personal goal of remaining president even after losing the election.