Trump faces 91 charges in four criminal cases for taking top-secret documents from the White House.
Washington:
Donald Trump on Monday called on the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court ruling that rejected his claim to immunity for alleged crimes committed while he was president.
Appeals to the Supreme Court’s upholding of an earlier ruling will be critical in deciding whether Trump can be tried for trying to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to now-President Joe Biden.
The appeal puts Trump’s fate in the hands of the Supreme Court, nine months before Election Day, when the far-right former president is likely to become the Republican nominee to face Biden for a second time.
Trump is the first major presidential candidate in American history to campaign under the shadow of multiple criminal and legal investigations and trials.
He faces 91 charges in four criminal cases involving taking top-secret documents from the White House when he left, using hush money to suppress damaging accusations of extramarital sex and a multi-pronged attempt to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court, just below the Supreme Court, ruled that he could not apply for immunity.
The judges said Trump’s claim that he was immune from criminal liability for actions he took while in the White House was “unsupported by precedent, history or the text and structure of the Constitution.”
Trump continues to insist that the president must have full legal immunity to carry out his duties without “fear” of “retaliation.”
However, the Washington appeals court said placing the president “out of reach” of the judicial and legislative branches by granting him immunity would “disintegrate our system of separation of powers.”
The appeals court put the ruling on hold until Monday to give Trump a chance to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The nine judges there must now decide whether to accept the case or potentially reject it, automatically allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand.
Trump’s trial for trying to subvert the 2020 election was originally scheduled to begin on March 4, but has been delayed by appeals.
As the presidential election approaches, the timing of the Supreme Court’s response will further impact the calendar.
Trump is accused of conspiring to defraud the United States and obstruct Congress from certifying Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021.
The charge relates to Trump organizing a raucous rally on the day of the certification vote and then telling his supporters to march on the Capitol, where they overran overwhelmed police and ransacked the building, delaying certification and ultimately being ejected.
Special counsel Jack Smith filed the election conspiracy case against Trump in August and has been pushing for a March start date for the trial.
If Trump is able to delay the trial until after the election and win re-election, he may order the federal case against him dropped.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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