The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his alleged interference in the 2020 election to overturn his loss to Joe Biden.
The federal court case accuses Trump and his allies of spreading false claims that the election was stolen, using fake electors to hinder Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory and pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to obstruct the certification process.
The Supreme Court said in a statement that it would decide “whether and to what extent a former president enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution for alleged official conduct while in office.”
Arguments will take place in April, with a decision expected by the end of June.
After the announcement, Trump issued a statement saying his immunity was necessary to best serve the country.
“The President must be free to decide what is right for our country, without undue pressure,” Trump said in a statement. “Without immunity, the office of the presidency, as we know it, would ‘cease to exist’ ‘.” Many actions that would benefit our national interests will not be taken. “
The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the president is protected from civil lawsuits related to his official duties, and Trump’s legal representatives have argued that this protection should be extended to criminal charges.
A lower court previously argued that Trump’s immunity claim should be dismissed because “we cannot accept that the Office of the President has since continued to hold its predecessor above the law.”
That court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, ruled 3-0 against Trump, saying he sought “unlimited authority to commit crimes that would negate the most basic check on executive power — the recognition and enforcement of election results. “”
Despite the accelerated timeline, doubts remain whether the trial can be completed before the November election if a judge rejects his immunity claim. Trump’s legal team is trying to delay all of his trials until after the November presidential election.
Trump faces 91 charges in four trials, including whether he illegally took highly classified documents with him when he left office and whether he forged documents related to hush money payments to porn actors.
Information for this report was provided in part by Reuters, AFP and The Associated Press.
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