The Supreme Court has declined to take up an expedited review of former President Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity from the 2020 federal election interference case, reported The New York Times on Friday — a loss for special counsel Jack Smith, who had urged them to take up the case and bypass the appellate court.
"A speedy decision by the justices was of the essence, Mr. Smith wrote, because Mr. Trump’s appeal of a trial judge’s ruling rejecting his claim of immunity suspends the criminal trial. The proceeding was scheduled to begin on March 4 in Federal District Court in Washington," reported the Times.
"Any significant delays could plunge the trial into the heart of the 2024 campaign season or push it past the election, when Mr. Trump could order the charges be dropped if he wins the presidency."
The criminal case, which is still scheduled for March 4, is currently on hold until the immunity question is resolved. Trump claims he should be immune from criminal charges because his actions were taken in his official capacity as president.
Most legal experts have doubted Trump's claims to immunity, but resolving the matter without the Supreme Court hearing the issue immediately could take months.
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Trump had opposed Smith's motion for the Supreme Court to hear the case quickly.
The D.C. Court of Appeals has already agreed to hear the matter on an expedited basis. It would now need to go through that process and whichever ruling it makes will then likely be appealed to the Supreme Court. Smith had hoped to skip the lower court and go straight to the supreme to save time.
"The Supreme Court will soon confront a different question arising from the aftermath of the 2020 election," noted the report. "On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Trump is not eligible to be on the primary ballot in that state under a provision of the Constitution that bars officials who have engaged in insurrection from holding office. Mr. Trump has said he will appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court."
