The US Supreme Court has decided to hear former president Donald Trump’s claims that he should be shielded from criminal liability. The apex court will now decide on whether Trump is immune from being prosecuted on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump has welcomed the move and in a statement on social media said that without immunity “presidents will always be concerned, and even paralysed, by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office. This could actually lead to the extortion and blackmail of a president.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the election conspiracy case against Trump in August and has been pushing hard for the March start date for his trial. Lawyers for the former president have sought repeatedly to delay the trial until after the November election.
Earlier, a lower court had already rejected Trump’s argument that he enjoys presidential immunity and that his actions fell within his duties as a president.
The lower court in its ruling said, “We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results.”
The former president was charged last year with witness tampering and conspiracy to defraud the US.
According to the justice department guidelines, prosecutorial action is not allowed in politically sensitive investigations from within 60 days of an election.
There is a possibility that if Trump wins the polls in November, the case will come to an end with either it being dropped or he could issue a presidential pardon for himself. The former president is also facing a host of other federal and state criminal charges.
The Supreme Court is also hearing a separate case where it is weighing on whether the former president can be disqualified from running a second term. Trump has said from time to time that the charges are nothing more than “witch hunts”.
