13 February 2024 , 11:02
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Former US president Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause a lower court ruling that denies him immunity from being prosecuted for plotting to overturn the 2020 election.
On Monday, his lawyers filed a 39-page emergency appeal requesting that the ruling made by a panel of three judges - that rejected his claim of immunity and instead declared that the trial could proceed - is halted. The judges had unanimously rejected Trump's rebuttal that he should not be liable for prosecution because the alleged acts happened while he was still in office, providing him with presidential immunity.
However, the judges said that in this case he should be tried as any other normal citizen. They wrote: "For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,' and "But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution." The ruling would go into effect on February 12.
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Trump's lawyers argue that he should not be tried like a normal US citizen (Getty Images)Trump pleaded not guilty last year to four criminal counts relating to alleged attempts to interfere with the last election that saw him lose the presidency to Joe Biden. On January 6 2021, a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, an attack that his lawyers claim did not amount to an insurrection.
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Facing such a trail could impact on Trump's ability to campaign for the upcoming 2024 elections, it was argued. His attorneys wrote in the filing: "Conducting a months-long criminal trial of President Trump at the height of election season will radically disrupt President Trump's ability to campaign against President Biden," adding that “Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the Presidency as we know it will cease to exist."
It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not to uphold Trump's request. Its decision could determine if the former president ends up standing trial before November's elections.
Although there is no timetable set for the trial, Special Counsel Jack Smith and his prosecuting team have been pushing for it to take place this year.
If the court rejected the Trump's emergency appeal then it would allow Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing proceedings, to schedule a trial in likely around March. However, the justices could also choose to extend the delay in order to hear arguments on immunity.
Prosecutors wrote in December: "It is of imperative public importance that Respondent´s claim of immunity be resolved by this Court and that Respondent´s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected." However, Trump's legal team indicated that they would ask the full federal appeals court in Washington to weigh in an attempt to extend the delay. It is only after them that they would file a formal appeal to the Supreme Court, putting the brakes on the resuming of trial preparations by weeks or even months.
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