US Supreme Court to hear Trump’s immunity claim in 2020 election case

WASHINGTON - 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.

Smith’s charges accused Trump of conspiring to defraud the US, obstructing the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral victory and conspiring to do so, and conspiring against the right of Americans to vote.

The charges also claim Trump and his allies made false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and devised a plan to use false electors to thwart congressional certification of Biden’s victory. Trump also sought to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence not to allow the certification to go forward. Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol in a bid to prevent the certification.

Trump last October sought to have the charges dismissed based on his claim of immunity. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected that claim in December. –