The U.S. Supreme Court’s highly anticipated ruling on former President Donald Trump’s bid for immunity in a federal criminal case involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss is expected on Monday, the final day of its current term.
The court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices Trump appointed, seemed inclined during April 25 arguments to recognize some level of criminal immunity, though perhaps a narrower version than the “absolute immunity” for official acts that he had sought.
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election in a rematch from four years ago. However it rules, the court’s slow handling of the blockbuster case already has helped Trump by making it unlikely that any trial on these charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith could be completed before the election.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on Trump’s appeal of a lower court’s decision rejecting his immunity claim.
Trump had argued that he is immune from prosecution because he was serving as president when he took the actions that led to the charges. Smith has opposed presidential immunity from prosecution based on the principle that no one is above the law.
During the arguments, Trump’s legal team had urged the justices to fully shield former presidents from criminal charges for official acts taken in office. Without such immunity, Trump’s lawyer said, sitting presidents would face “blackmail and extortion” by political rivals due to the threat of future prosecution.
Trump, 78, is the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted as well as the first former president convicted of a crime.
In the special counsel’s August 2023 indictment, Trump was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, corruptly obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to do so, and conspiring against the right of Americans to vote. He has pleaded not guilty.
Trump’s trial had been scheduled to start on March 4 before the delays over the immunity issue. Now, no trial date is set. Trump made his immunity claim to the trial judge in October, meaning the issue has been litigated for about nine months.