Donald Trump asks US Supreme Court to block ruling on his immunity claim in 2020 election interference case
Donald Trump on Monday (local time) appealed to the US Supreme Court to block a lower court’s decision that rejected his claim for immunity for alleged crimes during his presidency.
The appeal to block the earlier ruling by the top court is key to deciding whether Trump can be prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to current President Joe Biden.
The appeal puts Trump’s fate in the hands of the Supreme Court nine months before Election Day, with the hard-right former president likely to be the Republican nominee to face Biden for a second time.
Trump is the first major presidential candidate in American history to be under multiple criminal and legal investigations and trials.
He is charged with 91 counts of criminal trespass over four criminal counts involving the deletion of top-secret documents upon leaving the White House, the use of hush money to silence damaging allegations of extramarital sex and a multi-pronged effort to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory. Are registered.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court – the level just below the Supreme Court – ruled that he could not claim the exemption.
Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal liability for actions he took while in the White House is “not supported by precedent, history, or the text and structure of the Constitution,” the judges said.
Trump has continued to insist that a president must have complete legal immunity to be able to carry out duties without “fear” of “retaliation”.
However, the Washington appeals court said that placing the president “beyond the reach” of the judiciary and legislature by granting immunity would “collapse our system of separation of powers”.
The appeals court put the decision on hold until Monday to give Trump the opportunity to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The nine judges there must now decide whether to take the case or potentially reject it — automatically upholding the lower court’s decision.
Trump’s trial on attempts to subvert the 2020 election was originally scheduled to begin on March 4, but was delayed due to appeals.
The timing of the Supreme Court’s response will further impact the calendar as the presidential election rapidly approaches.
Trump is accused of conspiring to defraud the United States and obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021.
The charge relates to Trump organizing a fiery rally on the day of the certification vote, then telling his supporters to march on the Capitol, where they overwhelmingly attacked police officers and vandalized the building, before ultimately expelling the certification. Delayed.
Special counsel Jack Smith had filed the election conspiracy case against Trump in August 2023 and was pushing for a trial start date of March 2024.
If Trump can get the trial delayed until after the election and wins another term, he could potentially order the federal cases against him to be dropped.
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