The US Supreme Court decided yesterday, Wednesday, to take up the case Donald Trump’s the claim that, as a former president of the country, he has immunity from prosecution for the acts he committed while in office.
Four criminal charges have been brought against Trump, three of which relate to actions during his presidency.
According to Trump and his lawyers, the president should have immunity from prosecution, because without it he would have to constantly fear lawsuits after his official career, which could even be brought as revenge.
In Trump’s view, the four indictments currently pending, with dozens of subsections, are proof of the importance of immunity from prosecution. He says that prosecution protection is also included in the country’s constitution.
The main charge against him has been filed in the capital, Washington DC.
According to the indictment, Trump was involved in an attempt to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The attempt culminated in the violent takeover of the Congress building on January 6, 2021.
According to Trump, he cannot be blamed for what happened due to immunity from prosecution.
What did the Supreme Court decide?
The Supreme Court announced it will investigate whether — and if so, to what extent — past presidents enjoyed immunity from criminal charges related to decisions they made while president.
The Supreme Court stated that it is not an opinion on the decisions of lower courts.
The hearing of the case will begin in the Supreme Court in the week of April 22. The trial on changing the election result is on hold until the matter is decided. Originally, the election result court hearing was scheduled to begin on March 4.
When will the solution come?
The operating procedures of the Supreme Court include that the cases that came up for consideration in the spring term are resolved by the summer break, i.e. at the end of June or the beginning of July.
The special prosecutor handling the lawsuits brought against Trump Jack Smith has tried to rush court proceedings so that the public would have all the relevant information about Trump by the time of the November presidential election.
In principle, the Supreme Court can decide the matter quickly. For example, the resolution of the 1974 Watergate scandal came in 16 days.
According to Uutistoimisto AP, the solution can come quickly, if the nine judges of the Supreme Court agree on the matter.
If, on the other hand, the judges – or some of them – consider that the former presidents enjoy a certain type of immunity from prosecution in some contexts, the processing time can be long.
In this case, the judges have to make complicated line draws that would affect possible trials in the future.
How will the hearing affect Trump’s other lawsuits?
According to US legal practice, there can only be one active lawsuit against a person at a time. Since four large sets of charges have been brought against Trump, the courts have had a difficult job coordinating the schedules.
The next court hearing begins on March 25. It’s about a porn star to Stormy Daniels paid “cheating money”.
Trump is suspected of falsifying his company’s accounting records to avoid embarrassing publicity during his presidential campaign. The possible immunity from prosecution would therefore not apply to this case, because Trump was not president at the time.
If Trump is found guilty, he could even face prison terms. However, experts consider Daniels’ case to be the weakest of the charges brought against Trump.
For a prison sentence to come, prosecutors would have to prove that the accounting crime was an attempt to cover up a more serious crime, a violation of election laws.
Daniels’ case will take about a month to process.
Other charges against Trump include the illegal possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and an attempt to change the election result in the state of Georgia.
At this point, it is unclear whether these lawsuits can proceed as long as a potential defense is pending.
In any case, Trump can invoke the Supreme Court hearing and delay the progress of other things.
What are the sanctions for a Supreme Court hearing?
According to the lower court, there was no basis for Trump’s claim in the country’s jurisprudence, history, or the text of the constitution or background material.
If the Supreme Court rules that the president has full immunity from prosecution, it would be a revolutionary change in the American legal system. In previous hearings, Trump’s lawyers have hinted that the president might even have the right to assassinate his political opponents.
If the Supreme Court rejects Trump’s immunity from prosecution claim between June and July, the other cases would be able to continue. Prosecutors agreed on their scheduling.
The judge presiding over the trial regarding the attempt to change the election result Tanya Chutkan gives prosecutors and the defense three months to prepare for trial. That way, it would be able to get underway just before the November 6 election.
Many experts have already assumed that the most serious charges brought against Trump will not make it to court before the election. The American legal system also gives the accused many opportunities to delay the proceedings, and Trump has been found to use all means.
In terms of Trump’s election campaign, it is important that he at least does not receive a prison sentence.
His candidacy is dividing the Republican Party. Although he is now the most popular candidate, many Republican voters have indicated that they would not vote for him if he actually received a criminal conviction.
Opponents of Trump have feared that after becoming president, he might try to end the investigations against him or even pardon himself.
The composition of the Supreme Court is causing concern in Democratic circles. It now includes nine justices, six of whom are considered conservative and three liberal. Three of the conservatives were appointed by Trump himself.
The Supreme Court of the United States is held in very high esteem. It would be very damaging for it if the decision made about Trump in due course could be interpreted as biased.
Sources: AP, Reuters, AFP