The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will not hear the case regarding whether or not Donald Trump is immune from charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The highest court in the country decided that an appeals court should hand down the sentence, thus ignoring the request of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who had asked SCOTUS to act as quickly as possible.
The decision could be considered a triumph for the former president, since the ruling will not come in time for the Republican primaries, but later. The situation raises the dilemma as to whether the now candidate has constitutional immunity in the case in which he is accused of electoral interference.
"A speedy decision by the justices was of the essence, Mr. Smith wrote, because Mr. Trump’s appeal of a trial judge’s ruling rejecting his claim of immunity suspends the criminal trial. The proceeding was scheduled to begin on March 4 in Federal District Court in Washington," The New York Times reported.
The Supreme Court has denied Special Counsel Smith's request for an expedited review of the case against Trump.
There won't be a trial in DC before the 2024 election.
No mistake - this is a big loss for the Special Counsel. pic.twitter.com/nCNiiJe5lG
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 22, 2023
Just because the case has gone back to an appeals court doesn't mean it can't go back to the Supreme Court in the future, just not right now.
Smith, who is prosecuting the Republican for conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstruction of an official procedure and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, sent a brief to the Supreme Court in mid-December.
"This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin," he wrote.
Trump’s Jan, 6 case on hold
This was decided by Judge Tanya Chutkan on Dec. 14, after the former president appealed a decision by the judge that denied him the dismissal of the case due to presidential immunity and rights protected by the First Amendment.
According to the text signed by the judge, "any further procedure that advances this case towards trial or imposes additional procedural burdens on the defendant is automatically suspended."
The order came after Trump appealed a decision by Chutkan, who rejected a request to strike down all accusations against him, asking that activity in the case be halted while his appeal progresses. The presidential candidate argued that the case should be dismissed on the grounds of presidential immunity and First Amendment rights, which his legal team said would protect him from the accusations.
"They waited almost three years to bring this hoax ‘case' and are now desperately trying, and failing, to rush it because they know President Trump is dominating the election. The constitution should not be suspended in a baseless prosecution against the leading candidate for President" Steven Cheung, the former president's campaign spokesman, said at the time.
