KUALA LUMPUR – The United States Supreme Court has thrown a wrench in former president Donald Trump’s criminal charges in his election interference case after agreeing to hear his immunity bid.
As a result, the high court has granted a stay in the criminal case while the Supreme Court decides whether a former president could be immune from prosecution for official acts performed while in office.
Although Trump has written submissions in three weeks and oral arguments scheduled for April 22 onwards, it could take the Supreme Court months to issue an opinion.
If things go in Trump’s favour, his criminal case will be dismissed; otherwise, trial is likely to begin right in the middle of the presidential campaign, where Trump is the Republican frontrunner.
During his time as president, Trump appointed three of the six conservative justices on the nine-person Supreme Court bench.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is the prosecutor in Trump’s criminal case, urged the Supreme Court not to allow the former president to further delay the case.
In response, Trump’s defence said: “Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the presidency as we know it will cease to exist.”
The former president also welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear his immunity bid, saying a president “must not be guided by the fear of retribution”.
Previously, Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump was scheduled to go on trial in Washington on March 4. – February 29, 2024