Supreme court to hear Trump immunity claim in election interference case

The US supreme court will decide if Donald Trump can be prosecuted on election interference charges, indicating it will move quickly in the immunity case.

Trump’s appeal to the nation’s highest court marks the final challenge the former US president can make on the immunity issue related to his federal criminal case.

Trump’s team had viewed for months that the appeal would probably fall short on the law but would be an effective way to delay the impending trial, which had been due to begin in early March.

The court on Wednesday agreed to decide Trump’s claim of immunity on charges brought by a special counsel involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, again thrusting the nation’s top judicial body into the election fray as Trump seeks to regain the presidency.

The justices 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 of immunity from prosecution because he was president when he took actions aimed at reversing Joe Biden’s election victory over him.

Trump’s lawyers had requested a stay of that ruling, warning of dire consequences for the presidency absent such immunity.

Trump has made it no secret that his overarching legal strategy is to seek delays, ideally beyond the 2024 election in November, in the hopes that winning re-election could enable him to potentially pardon himself or direct his attorney general to drop the charges.

More details soon …