WASHINGTON – The US Supreme Court gave Donald Trump an early Christmas present Friday, declining to intervene and quickly rule on whether the former president enjoys immunity from federal charges against him over his challenge to the 2020 election results.
The unsigned order means it is possible the 77-year-old’s trial on four charges will not start as scheduled on March 4 while the issue of immunity is heard in court.
There were no significant dissents from the nine judges.
Special counsel Jack Smith has requested that the Supreme Court immediately “make a decision,” arguing in a Thursday filing that “the public interest in the prompt resolution of this case favors a prompt and final decision by this Court.”
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has an expedited hearing in the matter set for Jan. 9.
Trump’s legal team argued he could not be tried over his election challenge — which culminated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots — because his actions constituted “official action.”
Donald Trump’s legal team wants to slow the Supreme Court’s consideration of his presidential immunity claim. REUTERS Jack Smith does not want the trial start date to be significantly delayed. Reuters
The former president also argued that he was also immune from charges because the Senate had acquitted him following his impeachment in January 2021 for allegedly inciting riots.
“The Supreme Court has unanimously rejected Deranged Jack Smith’s desperate attempt to circumvent our Great Constitution,” Trump said on Truth Social Friday afternoon. “Crooked Joe Biden and his cronies waited three years to bring this bogus case, and now they have tried and failed to rush this Witch Hunt through the courts. Of course I am entitled to Presidential Immunity. I am the President, it is my right and duty to investigate, and speak out about, the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election. Expect a very important argument on Presidential Immunity before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Make America Great Again!”
The charges against Trump charge him with conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstructing and attempting to obstruct official proceedings, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy against rights.
The outcome of the trial could have a major impact on the 2024 election, where Trump is seeking a rematch against President Biden.
Friday’s decision comes as Trump prepares to appeal a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that kicked him out of the state’s GOP primary for his actions on Jan. 6, which a Centennial State judge deemed violated the Constitution’s so-called Sedition Clause and disqualified him. for high positions.
A conviction in Smith’s prosecution could help Trump’s foes argue that he is indeed an insurgent as part of a broader effort to remove him from the ballot next year.
The Supreme Court is likely to face a handful of Trump-related cases ahead of the 2024 presidential election. AP
Trump’s trial on federal election charges is scheduled to begin the day before Super Tuesday — a critical date on the presidential nominating calendar with 16 states holding primaries or caucuses.
Trump now leads Biden, 81, in most national and state elections. But Trump’s four pending criminal trials introduce an unprecedented variable to the race.
The potential delay of Trump’s DC trial means that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s novel business case against Trump — related to 2016 hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — may be the first trial in history against a former president. The proceedings are now set to begin on March 25.
Bragg’s case is generally considered the weakest against Trump, who is expected to cite any court victory as evidence that he is the victim of a long-running “witch hunt” by Democrats.
Trump is also scheduled to go on trial in May on federal charges of allegedly mishandling national security documents – a case also brought by Smith – and faces state charges in Georgia, with a trial date expected in August, for challenging his 2020 defeat there.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
