US Supreme Court Rejects Special Counsel's Request to Fast-Track Trump Immunity Dispute
19:48 GMT 22.12.2023 (Updated: 20:44 GMT 22.12.2023)
© AFP 2023 / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS
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Special counsel Jack Smith had asked the Supreme Court to rule on the issue quickly after Trump appealed a DC District Court ruling that found he is not immune from prosecution. Smith was hoping to skip over the circuit court to move the trial along quickly.
The US Supreme Court on Friday announced it would not decide immediately on whether former US President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution on allegations that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The one-line decision was not signed and noted no dissenters. "The petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is denied."
The order sends the case back to the DC Circuit Court, allowing the normal appeal process to play out.
1 December 2023, 17:54 GMT
However the Circuit Court rules, the losing party is allowed and will be expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court again, which will then be more likely to hear it. That means the trial, currently set for March 4, could be delayed further, a clear legal win for the Trump team.
Smith has been urging the courts to act before the election cycle begins in earnest. Meanwhile, the Trump legal team has pushed for the trials to be delayed until after the election. If elected, Trump could theoretically pardon himself, though that power has not been tested and it is unclear how the courts would rule in that case.
Trump was indicted in August on four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has decried all the cases against him as politically motivated "witch hunts."
Trump's legal team said that the request to leapfrog the Circuit Court was evidence that Smith is acting in a partisan matter.
"The Special Counsel's extraordinary request, combined with its vague, threadbare justification, creates the compelling appearance of a partisan motivation: To ensure that President Trump — the leading Republican candidate for President, and the greatest electoral threat to President Biden — will face a months-long criminal trial at the height of his presidential campaign," they wrote.
"The Special Counsel's extraordinary request, combined with its vague, threadbare justification, creates the compelling appearance of a partisan motivation: To ensure that President Trump — the leading Republican candidate for President, and the greatest electoral threat to President Biden — will face a months-long criminal trial at the height of his presidential campaign," they wrote.
Smith has repeatedly asserted that a speedy trial is in the best interest of the public.
"Nothing could be more vital to our democracy than that a president who abuses the electoral system to remain in office is held accountable for criminal conduct," he wrote when requesting the Supreme Court to hear the case.
The Supreme Court is separately hearing a case focused on the reach of a law used to prosecute more than 300 people allegedly involved in the Jan. 6 riots, one of the same laws used to indict Trump. That case is expected to be heard in June and could delay Trump's trial further.
It is also expected that Trump's legal team will appeal a Colorado Supreme Court decision to remove the former president from the ballot in that state. In that case, the US Supreme Court is expected to move quickly.
In addition to the case in DC, Trump is facing another federal case in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, a state case in Georgia over his alleged election meddling and a state case in New York over alleged falsifying of business records related to hush money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. He is also facing numerous lawsuits and civil trials.
Trump is expected to be the Republican nomination for President.
