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The Supreme Court has rejected a request by the US Department of Justice to fast-track a decision over whether Donald Trump is “absolutely immune” from federal prosecution for crimes allegedly committed while he was in the White House.
The order on Friday afternoon, which was not accompanied by an explanation from the justices, means the criminal case brought against the former president over his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election will be forced to percolate through lower appeals courts, in a process that could take several months.
That could delay a trial scheduled for March in the case brought in Washington federal court by Jack Smith, the DoJ special counsel appointed to oversee the federal criminal prosecutions of Trump.
Smith had urged the Supreme Court to grant “immediate review” in order for the case to be decided during its current term, which usually ends in June or early July.
District judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the election interference case, earlier this month rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss. He subsequently appealed against this decision and asked that all proceedings related to the case be put on hold pending a final order.
As a result, Smith argued that a decision by the high court, bypassing the intermediate appeals court in Washington, was “the only way” to achieve a “timely and definitive resolution” to the challenge by Trump.
Lawyers for the former president had urged the justices to reject such a request, arguing that decision was among the “most complex, intricate, and momentous issues that this court will be called on to decide” and should therefore not be rushed through the judicial hierarchy at “breakneck speed”.
“In 234 years of American history, no president ever faced criminal prosecution for his official acts. Until 19 days ago, no court had ever addressed whether immunity from such prosecution exists,” they wrote in a brief earlier this week.
Trump is facing four separate sets of criminal charges. Smith has also charged him with mishandling sensitive government documents, while the state of Georgia has also accused him of meddling with the 2020 vote.
The Manhattan district attorney has indicted Trump for an alleged scheme involving “hush money” payments to an adult film actress. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all the cases.
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