The judges of the Supreme Court meet at 16 Norwegian time before hearing the argument from Trump’s lawyers that the judgment from a lower court should be overturned.
Trump has previously been refused immunity for the period 2016 to 2020 when he was president. If he had been granted the claim, he would have been shielded from the four ongoing lawsuits pending in the US legal system.
– Not guilty
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four cases, including the case of so-called hush money paid to a former porn star just before the 2016 presidential election to get her to keep close about an alleged night with Trump at a hotel ten years earlier. This case is now going to court in New York.
Because of this legal process, Trump will not be present during the consideration of the appeal case in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has a clear conservative majority of six to three liberals. Of the six, three have been appointed by Trump personally: Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. The court has already given Trump a victory in the battle to be elected to a new round in the White House.
Overturned decision
In early March, the Supreme Court rejected a decision to remove Trump’s name from the ballot in Colorado. The state did this with reference to a section in the constitution which states that persons who have participated in sedition and rebellion of the type the world witnessed on 6 January 2021 cannot hold higher positions.
Not since the famous decision in 2020, when the lopsided election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was decided in Bush’s favor, has the Supreme Court played such a direct role in an election.
Trump’s defenders are demanding full and absolute immunity for actions taken during his time as president. Without such a clearance, future presidents’ decisions and assessments will be hampered by the prospect of future scrutiny and possible prison sentences, the lawyers claim.
– Trump was obsessed with power
Special investigator Jack Smith says in the August 2023 subpoena that Trump was obsessed with remaining in the position of president, even after Joe Biden had clearly won the election. Several points in the subpoena describe serious offenses Trump allegedly committed in this situation.
Smith is urging the judges to reject the former president’s attempt to secure immunity.
– No one is above the law, writes Smith.
In October, Trump tried to have the case dismissed, citing his asserted immunity. This claim was rejected by a district judge in December. Smith then asked the judges in the high court for an expedited hearing to force a court ruling before the election in November this year. This too was refused.
Bad timing
The proceedings in the Supreme Court should have started in March, and now time is running out to get such a clarification before the election.
A statement on Trump’s immunity must probably be available around the beginning of June if there is to be time to schedule a trial in September or October. Even that can be difficult, as several states open up early advance voting.
If Trump wins the election, it is expected that he will force the process to be halted or pardon himself for any federal offenses.
