The Supreme Court of the United States has announced that oral arguments in Donald Trump’s presidential immunity case will take place 25 April.
Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case from Mr Trump after federal court judges rejected his presidential immunity defence from criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The former president faces four counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights and obstruction of, and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding.
The arguments will take place on the last day of the court’s calendar. The court’s ruling is highly anticipated after the election conspiracy case, prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, DC, essentially came to a halt when Mr Trump came forward with his defence.
So far, Mr Trump’s defence has been shot down at both the appeals court and by the federal judge overseeing the case. Last month, appeals court judges wrote that “citizen Trump” is not shielded by executive immunity, and that his “alleged efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election were, if proven, an unprecedented assault on the structure of our government.”
This case comes after Mr Trump’s legal team argued in front of the Supreme Court for a separate case, one that challenges a Colorado court ruling that disqualified him from 2024 state ballots under the insurrection clause of the US Constitution.
The Supreme Court issued a decision this week in his favour, ruling that only Congress — not the states — has the authority to remove him from the ballot. Notably, the Court did not comment on whether Mr Trump participated in insurrection.
More to come…
