On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to address the issue of whether or not former President Donald Trump can face criminal prosecution for his efforts to combat voter fraud in the 2020 election, setting up for an answer once and for all on the question of presidential immunity.
As reported by The Hill, the order from the justices puts any further legal proceedings as a result of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case on hold for the time being. As Smith had asked the court to let the case continue playing out, the justices’ decision marks a serious blow to Smith’s efforts to prosecute the former President before the 2024 election.
Oral arguments in the case will take place in the week of April 22nd, thus allowing for the decision itself to most likely be made by the end of June at the latest.
The move comes as President Trump faces numerous different trials on a variety of exaggerated charges, all of which are politically motivated and being pursued by far-left district attorneys and special prosecutors. The first trial, based on alleged “hush money” charges that were filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D-N.Y.), is set to start on March 25th.
President Trump and his legal team have repeatedly pointed out that the former president most likely has immunity from the federal charges, as the charges involve actions that were undertaken while he was still President. Smith and others have falsely claimed that President Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, when in fact he was simply combating clear cases of voter fraud in multiple swing states, which may have been enough to swing the election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
President Trump took to Truth Social to express how “extremely thankful” he was that the Supreme Court decided to hear his case.
“Without Presidential Immunity, a President will not be able to properly function, or make decisions, in the best interest of the United States of America,” said President Trump. “Presidents will always be concerned, and even paralyzed, by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office. This could actually lead to the extortion and blackmail of a President.”
In addition to the Alvin Bragg case, President Trump faces two other trials in Washington D.C. brought about by Jack Smith’s investigations, as well as one in Georgia being pursued by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. He most recently faced an unfavorable ruling in a civil fraud trial in New York, where Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay over $360 million due to alleged defrauding, despite the fact that representatives from the banks that were supposedly defrauded took to the stand to admit that they had not been defrauded by the Trump Organization.