Supreme Court may reject Trump’s immunity, but risks delaying his trial even more

The predominantly conservative US Supreme Court on Thursday appeared to reject former president Donald Trump’s absolute criminal immunity arguments, but its ruling could further delay his federal trial in Washington, according to AFP.

By deciding two months ago to take up the matter, the highest court in the United States has already delayed the federal trial of the former Republican president for trying to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden.

While most of the nine justices were skeptical of the absolute immunity claimed by the Republican presidential candidate in November’s election, several, particularly among conservatives, insisted on the long-term ramifications of their decision.

“We’re writing a rule for posterity,” observed Neil Gorsuch, referring to the novelty of the issue.

“This case has enormous implications for the future of the presidency and the country,” added his colleague Brett Kavanaugh.

Donald Trump, appearing at the same time in New York, where he has been on trial since April 15 for suspicious payments during the 2016 campaign, assured that criminal immunity is essential to the exercise of supreme power.

“Without immunity, you’re not going to do anything, you become an honorary president,” for fear of being “indicted after you leave office,” he declared.

Military coup?

But the justices, particularly the three progressives, sided with Donald Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer.

“And if a president orders the military to stage a coup,” asked one of them, Elena Kagan, “is that an official act” covered by criminal immunity?

“It might very well be,” replied the lawyer.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson contrasted his fears of a risk of executive paralysis with that of a president free of any criminal responsibility. In this scenario, she spoke of “turning the Oval Office into the headquarters of criminal activity in this country.”

“Her unprecedented argument would exonerate former presidents from criminal liability for corruption, treason, sedition, murder and, in this case, conspiracy to overturn the results of an election and stay in power,” the Justice Department representative listed, Michael Dreeben.

Targeted by four separate criminal proceedings, Donald Trump is making every effort to be tried as late as possible, in any case after the presidential election.

The most politically charged, the federal trial for the 2020 election, has been put on hold until the Supreme Court rules.

“Narrow window” for the process

Therefore, his trial in New York could be the only one to end before the vote.

Most legal experts predict that Donald Trump will fail in the Supreme Court, as he did in the first instance and then on appeal, but everything will depend on the speed of the Court’s decision and its wording.

In particular, it could send the case back to a lower court to determine which documents could potentially escape prosecution, which would inevitably lead to further delays for the trial, originally scheduled for March.

“Even if the Court hands Trump a decisive and unassailable defeat, I think the prosecution will have work to do to get to trial before the election,” Steven Schwinn, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Illinois, told AFP before the hearing. from Chicago (North).

“There is still a window, but it is narrow and closing. The judges have to act quickly, otherwise there is a chance that the trial will start in the fall, in late August or early September,” former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason, a professor of criminal law at George Washington University, told AFP.

“The court really has to take into account that this is a unique case,” he said. “We’ve never had a situation where an accused has the potential to overturn his own impeachment if he wins the election. And then there will never be a trial,” he warns.

If re-elected in January 2025, Donald Trump could order a halt to federal proceedings against him.