Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has filed a request with the Supreme Court to suspend a lower court ruling that denies him presidential immunity from prosecution.
The ruling came in response to an election interference case in which Trump claimed he could not be tried for acts carried out as president.
Three lower court judges, however, disagreed with his claim and ruled that he can be prosecuted like any other citizen.
Trump’s legal team has argued that conducting a months-long criminal trial of the former president at the height of the election season would disrupt his ability to campaign against President Biden, leading to a potential delay in the landmark criminal case.
Trump is currently facing three other criminal trials in addition to this one, including charges in Georgia for an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, a seven-count indictment over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, and a trial related to the alleged concealment of a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
His legal team has also made repeated attempts to delay his criminal trials until after the 2024 election, and they have argued that presidents are immune from prosecution for possible crimes committed while they are in office, even after leaving the White House.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether to put the lower court’s ruling on hold to allow Trump to appeal. If the request is granted, it could lead to a long delay in the criminal case.
However, if the request is denied, the federal trial will be scheduled, likely for the spring.
It is unclear when the Supreme Court might rule on Trump’s request, but his legal team has warned that denying the former president immunity would set a precedent where such prosecutions will become increasingly common.
The Supreme Court could respond to Trump’s request in a few ways, including denying his request to put the ruling on hold, which would resume the federal trial, or denying his request for a review, which would effectively shut down his immunity argument.
