The US Supreme Court is set to make a ruling on Monday, July 1st regarding former President Trump’s request for immunity from criminal prosecution. Regardless of the outcome, due to time constraints, the former president will likely avoid facing trial in the 2020 federal election interference case before the November 5th election.
According to Reuters, it has been 20 weeks since Trump filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. The ruling could potentially prevent Special Prosecutor Jack Smith from having enough time to move forward with the four federal charges Trump faced for interference in the August of last year, as well as prevent a jury from reaching a verdict before voters head to the polls.
Trump, the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, will once again face off against Democratic President Biden in November. He is the first former US president to face criminal charges and has already been convicted in the New York “Hush Money Case.” If he were to reclaim the presidency, Trump could close the case with the special prosecutor and pardon himself for any federal offenses, but he would not be able to pardon the state-level sentencing in New York.
The trial for the 2020 federal election interference case was originally scheduled to begin on March 4th but was postponed due to the presidential immunity issue. The trial date is still undetermined. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the case is politically motivated.
Professor Erica Hashimoto from Georgetown University Law School stated, “I don’t see a way for the case to go to trial before the election. Even if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s ruling that Trump does not have immunity, the trial court would still have to decide on a series of other legal issues.”
After Judge Tanya Chutkan initially rejected Trump’s immunity claim, Smith requested a quick review by the Supreme Court last December to avoid trial delays. Trump opposed this move. The judges rejected Smith’s request, refusing to skip the intermediate appellate court to directly rule on Trump’s immunity issue. Subsequently, the DC Federal Appeals Court continued to handle Trump’s previous appeals and upheld Chutkan’s decision.
Trump appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court on February 12th, and the judges decided to hear the case on April 25th. However, in a crowded docket, the Supreme Court only made the ruling as the current session concluded.
During the courtroom arguments, some judges appeared inclined to rule that the former president has a certain degree of criminal immunity. If the Supreme Court makes such a decision, the trial proceedings could further delay. In that case, the judges may order Chutkan to conduct a lengthy legal battle to determine whether certain charges against Trump must be dropped before proceeding to trial.
Chutkan had previously stated that once the case returns to her courtroom, she would give Trump at least three months to prepare for trial. Under this timeline, the trial would likely begin in the last few weeks before the election in October, a prospect that is almost improbable. Given the proximity of the trial date to the election, Trump and his legal team are almost certain to accuse the judge of election interference.