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A figure of Donald Trump in a carnival boat participating in the traditional Rosenmontag carnival parade in Düsseldorf. February 12, 2024
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On Monday – the last possible day – Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to delay a ruling that rejected his claim that he has immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss . Trump’s argument is that “without such a shield, the presidency will cease to exist as it is known.”
Trump, the near-certain Republican nominee for the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, asked the justices to halt a Feb. 6 decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia District denying his request for immunity from prosecution.
In a brief letter to the Supreme Court (SC), Trump’s lawyers warned that “conducting a months-long criminal trial once morest President Trump in the midst of an election season would radically impair President Trump’s ability to campaign” once morest President Joe Biden ahead of the election.
They asked the justices to halt the court proceedings, which would give them the chance to file a motion asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review its en banc ruling in a full bench instead of the typical three-judge panel. Such a request is often based on arguments that there has been a change in the law that affects the case or new evidence.
The D.C. Court of Appeals has already declined to reconsider its decision to uphold Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order limiting Trump’s arguments in the criminal case once morest him related to his actions following the 2020 election.
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Delaying the case might benefit Trump. If he wins the election in November and returns to the White House, he can use his presidential powers to end the prosecution or possibly pardon himself for any federal crimes. Trump’s March 4 trial date in federal court in Washington on four charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith has already been postponed, with no new date set.
Trump’s lawyers painted a grim picture — rejected by judges at the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals — of what would befall future presidents if his prosecution is allowed to proceed, warning of biased prosecutions, extortion, blackmail and more.
“Any decision by the president on a politically contentious issue would face the threat of impeachment from the opposing side following a change in administrations.” All presidential decisions “would be exposed to unwarranted, illegitimate pressure from opposing political forces” under the threat – which they call a “political cudgel” – of impeachment following the president leaves office. It, the lawyers wrote, would make “attempts to influences the most sensitive and important presidential decisions under the threat of personal vulnerability following leaving office.”
The D.C. decision stated that “the risk that former presidents will be unduly harassed by frivolous federal prosecutions appears small.”
The conservative majority on the Supreme Court (6:3) includes three justices appointed by Trump. The charges filed by Smith in August 2023 are one of four criminal cases now pending once morest Trump. The lawsuit, which will be heard in Georgia state court, is also related to his efforts to reverse his 2020 loss.
In December, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in the case brought by Smith rejected Trump’s immunity claim and ruled that former presidents “do not enjoy special treatment of their federal criminal liability.” After Trump appealed, the three-judge panel also rejected Trump’s immunity claim.
“We cannot accept that the office of the presidency places its former residents above the law forever,” the commission wrote in its decision.
During January arguments in the District Court for the District of Columbia, one of Trump’s lawyers told the justices that even if a president sells pardons or military secrets or orders Navy SEALs to kill a political rival, he cannot be held criminally liable unless not be impeached and convicted in Congress first.
Prosecutors say Trump acted as a candidate, not president, when he pressured officials to overturn the election results and encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to pressure Congress not to certify the victory of Biden.
Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstructing Congressional certification of Biden’s election victory, and conspiracy to do so, as well as conspiracy once morest the right of Americans to vote.
It’s not the first time Trump has made sweeping immunity claims. The Supreme Court in 2020 rejected Trump’s argument that he was immune from a subpoena issued during a state criminal investigation while he was president.
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In December, the Supreme Court denied Smith’s request (to the Supreme Court) to rule on the immunity claim even before the District of Columbia had ruled — an attempt by prosecutors to speed up the process of resolving the matter. The Supreme Court judges then chose to follow the usual procedure.
The US Supreme Court is currently considering another request by Trump – to interpret the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, ratified shortly following the end of the Civil War, and specifically whether Section 3 of it allows him to be disqualified from running for president because of his alleged role in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The provision barred individuals from holding office if they had participated in an insurrection or rebellion once morest the United States.
Colorado’s Supreme Court has ruled that Trump can’t run in the state’s GOP primary because he was involved in a riot. Trump’s legal team asked the US Supreme Court to overturn that decision. During oral arguments last week, the Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism regarding the power of an individual state to deny a candidate for federal office access to the ballot on such grounds (that he is a “rebel”).
The justices’ questions and comments during the hearing suggest they may be inclined to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision. That would potentially end a national effort to disqualify Trump under this rarely used constitutional provision.
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