Supreme Court's Plan for Donald Trump Immunity Decision: What You Need to Know

In a significant development, the Supreme Court has announced its intention to decide on whether former President Donald Trump holds immunity in Special Counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case. This decision comes amid a federal trial that is set to be further delayed pending the court's ruling on whether Trump is immune from four felony charges accusing him of conspiring to subvert the 2020 presidential election, as per Mediaite.

In a 52-page document, Trump attempted to have the charges dropped last year, claiming that the acts he was charged with were inside the "outer perimeter" of his official duties and that, as a result, he could not be prosecuted due to the extensive protections given to the presidency. CNN reports that the justices decided to accelerate the case, and arguments will start the week of April 22. Oral arguments in a lawsuit determining whether Trump could be barred from seeking reelection under the 14th Amendment for allegedly encouraging an uprising were heard by the court earlier this month.

The former president's attorneys had asked the court to put the trial on hold and not to take up the matter until after the former president had thoroughly challenged the ruling in a lower court. The D.C. trial would have been significantly delayed and the procedure would have taken weeks. Smith asked the court to rule on Trump's claims of immunity as soon as possible so that the trial could proceed in time for the November presidential election. Since Trump's indictment last year, the conservative-majority Supreme Court has not gotten involved in any of his criminal matters until now, when it decided to consider his claims over immunity. The remarkable claim that Trump was entitled to complete presidential immunity and that this immunity applied regardless of Trump's motivations for carrying out the acts detailed in the allegations formed the basis of the Trump legal team's brief.

Tanya Chutkan, the US district judge overseeing the case. The three-judge panel of the DC circuit both rejected the claims. The decision is viewed as a win for Trump's legal team in postponing the trial, which was initially set for March 4th, even though the justices may decide against him. In three separate jury proceedings, the Republican front-runner and eventual nominee is expected to be charged with three additional felonies for a range of offenses, including handling classified material and trying to rig the Georgia election, as per CBS News.

The immunity claim was pursued by the attorneys for the 45th US president last October primarily. It was because it was an interlocutory appeal. The appeal may be debated prior to the trial. Based on the discrepancy between the original trial date of March 4 and December 8, Trump has 87 days remaining in that period. In addition to his three ongoing criminal charges, Trump is scheduled to go on trial in a New York state court. It will be on March 25 for payments of hush money to a porn star. In each case, Trump has entered a not-guilty plea to cast them as motivated by politics.