2023-12-12 15:14:23
Special counsel Jack Smith asked the US Supreme Court to decide whether Donald Trump enjoys presidential immunity. This is in view of the criminal process for the alleged crimes that he committed during his mandate, in what will be the first time that the high court rules on the historic case against the former president. For its part, the Supreme Court accepted the special prosecutor’s request and in a statement, the high court announced that it accepted the procedure and set a deadline for Trump’s lawyers to send a response.
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“Petitioner’s motion to expedite consideration of the petition for writ of certiorari before judgment is granted, and respondent is ordered to file a response to the petition no later than 4 pm (EST) on Wednesday, December 20, 2023,” the court wrote.
According to international media, the extraordinary request is an attempt by Smith to keep the trial for electoral subversion going, currently scheduled for early March. Smith is asking the Supreme Court to take the rare step of bypassing a federal appeals court and quickly decide a key issue in the case against Trump.
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According to what was reported, Smith’s team has asked the court to review the ruling of District Judge Tanya Chutkan, according to which, as a former president, Trump is not immune to the accusation of electoral subversion presented in Washington.
“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president has absolute immunity from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or whether he is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached; but he is not convicted, before the criminal process begins,” the request indicates.
Meanwhile, the former president’s lawyers have argued that Trump’s alleged actions regarding the 2020 election results were part of his official duties at the time and, therefore, he is protected by presidential immunity.
CNN reported that prosecutors have also asked the court to decide whether Trump is protected by rules that prevent trying a person twice for the same case. Defense attorneys have argued that since Trump was acquitted by the Senate during his impeachment trial, he cannot be criminally prosecuted for the same alleged actions.
If the Supreme Court took up the case, the question of presidential immunity would not go before an appeals court. Trump’s team had asked the appeals court last week to review Chutkan’s ruling and also asked it to suspend all trial dates in the meantime.
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