WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether former President Donald Trump can claim presidential immunity over criminal election interference charges, adding a new hurdle to a trial taking place.
The court said in a brief order it would hear arguments and issue a ruling on the immunity claim. In the meantime, the case is on hold, meaning no trial can take place.
The order said the court would hear the case, which could take months to resolve, the week of April 22. That timeline allows for a ruling by the end of the court’s regular term in June, which is faster than is typical when the court hears arguments but not as fast as prosecutors wanted it to be.
– Lawrence Hurley writing for nbcnews.com
There is a striking difference between Trump’s (civil) trials in New York State, and the criminal trials he faces in Federal Courts. He was already found guilty in the NY Civil Fraud Trial, and the NY Hush Money Trial is coming up (for crimes committed in the run-up to the 2016 election!).
The most important one of the federal cases— the Dept. of Justice Jan. 6 coup trial— is now almost certain to start only after July. It very well may not be completed by the time the 2024 election takes place, with Trump as the Republican candidate.
With the benefit of hindsight, the DOJ’s bottoms-up approach for doling out justice for the January 6, 2021 events, was the wrong one. Yes, by 2024, more than 1,200 rioters had been charged, and more than 460 imprisoned. They should have started at the top, though. Indictments against Trump were only filed in August of 2023.
[Screenshot from The Beat by Ari Melber, from the MSNBC TV channel]