Current:Home > FinanceSpecial counsel urges Supreme Court to deny Trump's bid to halt decision rejecting immunity claim in 2020 election case -Elevate Capital Network
Special counsel urges Supreme Court to deny Trump's bid to halt decision rejecting immunity claim in 2020 election case
View
Date:2025-04-18 15:04:23
Washington — Special counsel Jack Smith urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to allow a lower court decision rejecting former President Donald Trump's claim he is immune from federal prosecution to take effect, clearing the way for his trial in the case involving the 2020 presidential election to proceed.
In a 40-page filing with the Supreme Court, the special counsel argued the "public interest in a prompt trial is at its zenith where, as here, a former president is charged with conspiring to subvert the electoral process so that he could remain in office."
"The nation has a compelling interest in seeing the charges brought to trial," Smith wrote.
His filing came in response to Trump's request to the Supreme Court earlier this week for it to freeze a decision from the federal appeals court in Washington that denied his claim of broad immunity from prosecution for his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gave Trump until Feb. 12 to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court, a deadline the former president met. His lawyers asked the justices to keep trial proceedings on hold — they have been halted since December — to give Trump time to ask the full D.C. Circuit to reconsider his immunity argument and then appeal to the Supreme Court if needed.
Trump's trial in Washington was initially scheduled to begin March 4, but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, delayed its start earlier this month.
In his filing, Smith said that if the Supreme Court believes that Trump's immunity claim warrants its review, it should take up the case on an expedited basis. The special counsel proposed a schedule that would allow for the court to hear oral argument in March and issue an opinion resolving the issue "as promptly as possible this term, so that, if the court rejects [Trump's] immunity claim, a timely and fair trial can begin with minimal additional delay."
Submitted to the justices nearly a week before it was due, Smith argued in the court papers that Trump's assertion that he is absolutely immune from criminal charges based on conduct falling within his official duties is not supported by constitutional text, separation-of-powers principles, history, or logic.
"If that radical claim were accepted, it would upend understandings about presidential accountability that have prevailed throughout history while undermining democracy and the rule of law — particularly where, as here, a former president is alleged to have committed crimes to remain in office despite losing an election, thereby seeking to subvert constitutional procedures for transferring power and to disenfranchise millions of voters," the special counsel wrote.
He said the crimes Trump is alleged to have committed, stemming from what prosecutors claim is his efforts to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election, "strike at the heart of our democracy."
"A president's alleged criminal scheme to overturn an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power to his successor should be the last place to recognize a novel form of absolute immunity from federal criminal law," Smith wrote.
If the Supreme Court grants Trump's request to stay the lower court's ruling while he seeks further review, it is likely to delay his trial further. Trump is currently the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, and he has claimed that requiring him to stand trial during the height of the 2024 election season would infringe on his First Amendment rights and disrupt his ability to campaign against President Biden.
Trump first argued in October that his claim of presidential immunity is grounds for the four charges he faces to be dismissed. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Chutkan rejected his bid to toss out the indictment in December, and Trump appealed the decision to the D.C. Circuit. Smith then asked the Supreme Court to bypass the appeals court and decide whether the former president is shielded from criminal charges for official acts. The justices rejected the special counsel's request to step in at that time.
In a landmark decision earlier this month, the three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit upheld Chutkan's decision denying Trump absolute immunity.
"For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant," the panel, consisting of Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, wrote in a unanimous opinion. "But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution."
Trump's position, the judges warned, "would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches. Presidential immunity against federal indictment would mean that, as to the President, the Congress could not legislate, the Executive could not prosecute and the Judiciary could not review. We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter."
- In:
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Donald Trump
- Jack Smith
Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
TwitterveryGood! (89)
Related
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Oscars 2024: Margot Robbie, Charles Melton and More Shocking Snubs and Surprises
- Murder charges filed against Illinois man accused of killing wife and 3 adult daughters
- Sharon Osbourne Shares She Attempted Suicide After Learning of Ozzy’s Past Affair
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- These Gym Bags Are So Stylish, You’ll Hit the Gym Just to Flaunt Them
- Noah Cyrus' New Look Is Far Departure From Her Free the Nipple Moment
- Outgoing North Dakota Gov. Burgum sees more to do for the ‘underestimated’ state
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 3 people arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of violating EU sanctions with exports to Russia
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Want a six-pack? Here's how to get abs.
- Sofía Vergara reveals why she and Joe Manganiello divorced
- Rhode Island Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against Gov. McKee filed by state GOP
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- A hospital in northern Canada is preparing for casualties after plane crashes, officials say
- Sorry San Francisco 49ers. The Detroit Lions are the people's (NFC) champion
- Theft of ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz was reformed mobster's one last score, court memo says
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Flyers goalie Carter Hart taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons
Ohio State athletics department generated revenue of almost $280 million in 2023 fiscal year
911 calls show fears of residents and friends after a young man got shot entering the wrong home
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
North Dakota judge won’t block part of abortion law doctors say puts them at risk of prosecution
Drone the size of a bread slice may allow Japan closer look inside damaged Fukushima nuclear plant
After long delay, Virginia lawmakers advance nominees for powerful regulatory jobs