WASHINGTON, United States: The US Supreme Court has set Wednesday, April 25, to hear Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution as a former president.
Trump, 77, almost certain to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, was scheduled to stand trial in Washington this week on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
But because his claim of presidential immunity went through the court, the proceeding was stopped.
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the conspiracy case against Trump in August and is pushing for a March trial date.
But the former president’s lawyers have repeatedly requested that the trial be delayed until after the November presidential election, when all federal cases against Trump would be dropped if he wins.
The Supreme Court took up the high-profile case in late February, announcing at the time that oral arguments would be scheduled for the week of April 22.
In agreeing to hear the immunity case, the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, including three justices personally appointed by President Trump, “expressed its opinion on the merits” of a lower court ruling that rejected President Trump’s immunity claim.
The report says it addresses the question of whether former presidents “have immunity from criminal prosecution for acts allegedly committed while in office.”
A verdict is expected at the end of the current court session in June or early July.
The question of whether former presidents cannot be prosecuted has not been tested in US jurisprudence because, until the Trump administration, no former president had ever been charged with a crime.
Although the Supreme Court has historically been reluctant to intervene in political matters, it has been in the spotlight in this year’s race for the White House.
The court on Monday unanimously rejected a state court order that would have barred President Trump from voting, potentially blocking his bid to retake the White House.
The question before the nine justices was based on Trump’s involvement in the uprising, his supporters’ storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, during the Republican presidential primary in Colorado. The question was whether he is not eligible to participate in this event.
Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for inciting the riot, but acquitted by Republicans in the Senate.
He is scheduled to go on trial in New York on March 25 on charges of concealing secret payments to porn stars ahead of the 2016 election.
Among other lawsuits, Trump also faces federal charges in Florida for refusing to give up classified documents after leaving the White House.
