The US Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Monday in what could be its most consequential case of the term – whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted as a former president.
While the ruling is expected to dismiss Trump’s assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity, the decision will be fundamental in determining whether he can be tried for inciting the insurrection to overturn his 2020 election defeat before this year’s poll, in which he is the endorsed Republican candidate.
“We are writing a rule for the ages,” conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, nominated by Trump said when the arguments were being heard in April.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another appointee of President Trump, has also expressed his concerns along similar lines, stating, “This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, foe the future of the country. ”
Trump was initially scheduled for trial in the election case on March 4, before his November face-off with President Joe Biden.
However, the United States Supreme Court, composed of nine members, five of whom are conservatives, is led by Chief Justice Roberts. One of the justices appointed by Trump during his term in office concurred in February to entertain Trump’s defense of absolute presidential immunity, which put the case on hold until they considered it in April.
This means the trial has been delayed to an extent, allowing adjustments to previous measures according to the new paradigm.
They will not accept Trump’s argument to the extent that he enjoys absolute immunity as a sovereign. Rarely, during his arguments in April, did the justices seem inclined towards his assertions, with some of the justices asking whether that means a president can “commit crimes with abandon. ”
However, the vagueness of the decision and its wording could push the trial even further, reducing the chances of Trump facing prosecutors before the November 5 vote.
For instance, justices may remit the case to district courts to determine which of the special counsel’s charges against 78-year-old Trump fall under the purview of official acts and therefore could be shielded from prosecution.
That would consequently cause a delay in the trial, which, regardless of the verdict, would require months of preparation to recover from. With four criminal cases against him, Trump is doing everything possible to ensure that the trials do not start before the election.
On May 30, a New York court found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of providing false statements and covering up a sex scandal in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first former president of the United States to be convicted of a crime. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11th.
Many legal analysts pointed out that the New York hush money case was the weakest of the four cases, yet it was likely the only potential trial before the vote.
As a result of his lawyers filing numerous pre-trial motions, Trump has been able to stall the three other trials: those pertaining to instigating the January 6 insurrection, seeking to decertify the 2020 presidential election, and taking top-secret government documents to his home in Florida.
Regarding the federal trials against the president, if re-elected, Trump can, upon inauguration in January 2025, order the federal trials to be closed.
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