Sundiata Post – The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear former President Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution, further delaying his criminal trial on charges of conspiring to overturn his election loss in 2020.
The justices on Wednesday put on hold the criminal case being pursued by Special Counsel Jack Smith and will review a lower court’s rejection of Trump’s claim he cannot be prosecuted for actions aimed at reversing his loss because he was president at the time.
The court will hear arguments in late April, with a decision likely no later than the end of June.
That timetable is much faster than usual, but even if the justices deny Trump’s immunity bid, it is not clear whether a trial can be scheduled and concluded before this year’s presidential election.
Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 election.
The former president’s lawyers have sought to put off a trial until after the vote.
If Trump regains the presidency, he could seek to use his powers to force an end to the prosecution or potentially pardon himself for any federal crimes.
The Supreme Court, in an unsigned statement, said it will consider a single question: “Whether and if so, to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”
The question is an untested one in US jurisprudence because until Trump, a former US president had never been charged with a crime.
The case once again thrusts the nation’s top judicial body, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump, into the election fray.