Attack on the Capitol: US Supreme Court refuses to urgently rule on Trump’s immunity

Was Donald Trump protected by presidential immunity when he tried to overturn the 2020 election results? The United States Supreme Court declined on Friday to rule urgently on the issue, a boon for the Republican who is hoping to delay the start of his trial.

The flamboyant billionaire, a candidate for elections at the end of 2024, will have to be tried from March 4 for the pressure he exerted in the last presidential election.

His lawyers, who are trying hard to delay the start of his trial so that it does not coincide with the election calendar, argue that Donald Trump enjoys “absolute immunity” for his actions while he was in office in the White House. And for this reason he should not be judged.

The trial may have been postponed

Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over Donald Trump’s federal trial, rejected the first request for immunity in early December, finding that no text protected the former president from prosecution.

Donald Trump’s lawyers appealed the decision, asking the Court of Appeals to rule on the issue. However, this additional step could take many weeks and risks ultimately delaying the start of the former president’s trial.

In mid-December, federal prosecutor Jack Smith asked the US Supreme Court to rule directly on this issue, without waiting for a decision from the Court of Appeals.

Something the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority since it was largely overturned by Donald Trump, refused on Friday. Similar attempts to invoke presidential immunity for Donald Trump have been rejected by judges, but the temple of American law has never explicitly said whether the former head of state enjoys immunity from prosecution.

The case law becomes even more vague as Donald Trump is the first former President of the United States to face criminal charges. The Republican billionaire is poised for an all-around remarkable year, marked by changes in the courts and campaign platforms.