The US Supreme Court is set to rule on whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution, a decision that could have significant implications for the future of the presidency and the country. The ruling is expected to reject Trump’s claim of absolute immunity, but it will also determine whether his trial for conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss can proceed before this year’s election. The original trial date for Trump’s election case was March 4, but the Supreme Court, dominated by conservatives, agreed to hear his argument for presidential immunity in February, putting the case on hold until April.
The court is unlikely to rule that Trump has complete immunity, as the scope and wording of the decision could further postpone the trial, shrinking the odds that Trump will face prosecutors before the November 5 vote. Justices could send the case back to lower courts to sort out which of the special counsel’s allegations against 78-year-old Trump concern official acts, thus making him immune from prosecution.
Trump has been working to delay the trials at least until after the election, with the New York hush money case being considered the weakest of the four cases. By filing many pre-trial motions, Trump’s lawyers have put on hold the three other trials, which deal with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and hoarding top-secret documents at his home in Florida. If re-elected, Trump could order the federal trials against him closed once sworn in as president in January 2025.