Trump appeals immunity loss to Supremes
Former President Donald Trump on Monday appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court for his claim of blanket immunity in his Jan. 6 election interference case.
If the high court rejects his appeal, the case would return to District of Columbia Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan for trial.
There was no immediate response from the nation’s highest court.
A three-judge appeals court panel that firmly rejected Trump’s appeal last week gave him until the close of business Monday to file paperwork with the nation’s top court.
Trump’s filing, which came just before the deadline, puts the ball squarely in the Supreme Court to determine when and if a landmark criminal trial of a former president will proceed.
The conservative Supreme Court’s decision on what to do, and how quickly it decides, could determine whether Trump (photo) stands trial in the case before the November election, in which he hopes to win a return to power and scrap the case against him.
There is no timetable for the top court to act.
The unanimous panel of the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week sharply rejected Trump’s novel claim that former presidents enjoy absolute immunity for actions taken while serving in the White House.
The judges agreed with special counsel Jack Smith’s team that such a ruling would give a green light for presidents to order assassinations of political rivals or other outrageous offenses without facing criminal liability.
The Supreme Court’s legal options include rejecting the emergency appeal, which would allow Chutkan to restart pretrial activity in the case immediately.
The trial was initially scheduled to begin in early March, but Chutkan has said she will delay it to give Trump’s defense more time for pretrial preparations.
The Supreme Court could alternatively extend the delay while it hears arguments on the immunity issue. Depending on how quickly the justices expedite the arguments, that would determine how soon a trial might begin, assuming they eventually agree with lower court rulings that Trump is not immune from prosecution.
The justices could also decide to put off any decision until after the election.
The Washington, D.C., federal case is one of four prosecutions and 91 felony counts Trump faces, including federal charges in Florida that he illegally retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
He’s also charged in a Georgia state court with racketeering to subvert that state’s 2020 election and in Manhattan Supreme Court in connection with hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
As things stand now, the hush money case is likely to be the first trial Trump faces. It’s set for trial March 25.