Tuesday saw legal representatives for Donald Trump appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss charges of conspiracy against the former president related to efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election. Despite previous attempts by lower courts to refute immunity, Trump’s legal team has a renewed opportunity to appeal their case to the Supreme Court. The hearing will take place on April 25. The nature of this appeal has put a pause on the criminal case until a decision is made, leaving doubts about whether special counsel Jack Smith will have enough time to put Trump on trial before the November election.
In a brief submitted on Tuesday, Trump’s legal team echoed arguments previously dismissed by judges. They claimed that a president cannot perform duties or remain independent in office when threatened by criminal prosecution upon their exit. They ended with a statement noting the potential for the threat of future prosecution to be used as a tool to influence presidential decision-making, undermining the effectiveness of the office.
Jack Smith’s team has indicated that ex-presidents do not have absolute immunity. They argue that Trump’s actions, in his attempts to retain power after his defeat to Joe Biden, should not be classified as official acts of a president. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the case, backed Smith’s stance, as did a panel of three federal appeals judges in Washington. The trial was initially scheduled for March 4. However, the appeal process currently running through the courts has paused proceedings since then.
On the other hand, Trump’s legal team has suggested to the justices that they should return the case to Chutkan for additional verification of the facts if they reject Trump’s immunity claims. This move could further delay trial plans.
This particular case is one of four state and federal criminal cases currently facing Trump in his quest to return to the White House. Trump and his legal team have successfully managed to delay these cases from advancing to trial, which has proven to be a successful strategy for the ex-president to date.
Out of these four cases, only one relating to ‘hush money’ payments to suppress claims of extramarital affairs in New York is projected to start within the next few months. A delay to this trial until mid-April at the earliest was confirmed last week by the presiding judge while he attempts to clarify a late-stage evidence dump claimed by Trump’s lawyers to have obstructed their defense preparations.
