The Supreme Court is set to issue its most anticipated decision of the term on Monday, determining whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. as reported by Newsweek.
The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, meets for the final time this term on July 1. The justices are expected to decide whether former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts performed in office. Trump has argued for immunity in an effort to dismiss the indictment he faces on charges of election interference.
Ahead of the decision, Trump took to social media to argue that a U.S. president “literally could not function” without immunity. “Without Presidential Immunity, a President of the United States literally could not function! It should be a STRONG IMMUNITY, where proper decisions can be made, where our Country can be POWERFUL and THRIVE, and where Opponents cannot hold up and extort a Future President for Political Gain,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
The justices were skeptical when they heard arguments on April 25. By holding onto the case until July, they have reduced the chance that Trump will have to stand trial before the November election, regardless of the ruling. report from Reuters.
In a case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump was indicted on four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The trial was due to start on March 4 but has been on hold while the Supreme Court weighed the immunity question.
Delaying the start of his trials while Trump seeks to win back the White House has been a goal of his lawyers in all four criminal cases against him. Only one case has gone to trial. In May, Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Daniels alleged having a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier, which Trump has denied. After the verdict, he said the trial was “rigged” and that he would appeal. Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11, According to CNN.
In another federal case brought by Smith, Trump is charged with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. He is also charged alongside several others with attempting to overturn his narrow loss to Biden in the 2020 election in Georgia. He has denied any wrongdoing in all the cases.
