Trump Seeks Supreme Court Dismissal of 2020 Election Overturn Plot Case

Attorneys representing Donald Trump have once again brought forth the call for the U.S. Supreme Court to negate an indictment that accuses the former president of scheming to rescind the 2020 election results. This underscores their ongoing attempts to purport his immunity from prosecution over any formal acts conducted during his presidency. This plea of immunity, however, has been twice dismissed by lower courts.

The Supreme Court will scrutinize these claims on April 25, granting Trump’s legal team another opportunity to make their case. The court’s decision to look into the appeal has stymied progress on the criminal case, leaving uncertainty surrounding whether Jack Smith, the special counsel, can lead a trial against Trump before the forthcoming November election.

In a document submitted on Tuesday, Trump’s attorneys reiterated preexisting arguments that have been previously rebutted by the court. They insisted that the President’s capacity to function is compromised if they are exposed to the threat of criminal prosecution for official acts after leaving office.

The lawyers further mentioned that denying criminal immunity could lead to potential blackmail and extortion of future Presidents while still in office. Subsequently, these Presidents then become vulnerable to years of post-office harassment from political adversaries.

Contrary to this, Smith’s legal team holds the conviction that former presidents do not possess absolute immunity. Furthermore, they argued that the alleged actions by Trump in his desperate bid to stay in power despite being defeated by Democrat Joe Biden wouldn’t classify as official presidential acts.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, and a three-judge federal appeals panel in Washington have concurred with Smith’s argument. At the same time, the continual appeal has put a halt to the case, originally set to go to trial on March 4.

Additionally, Trump’s legal team proposed to the justices that if Trump’s immunity claims are rejected, the case should be referred back to Chutkan to conduct additional “fact-finding”. This move would cause further delay in scheduling a trial.

This case is just one of the four state and federal criminal prosecutions that Trump currently faces as he attempts to retake the presidency. There has been a concerted effort by him and his lawyers to postpone the cases from reaching trial, a tactic that so far has granted the former president some relief.

Out of these four cases, only the New York case, which accuses Trump of illegal hush money payments, seems likely to commence within the next few months. Last week, the judge overseeing the New York case postponed the trial until at least mid-April to gain clarity on a last-minute influx of evidence that Trump’s legal team contends has hindered their defense preparation.