The US Supreme Court is ending its current session this Monday. It is expected that the question of whether former US President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump is protected from prosecution for actions in office will finally be answered. The answer has consequences for the election fraud case against Trump in Washington.
The groundbreaking ruling in the case Donald J. Trump v. United States deals with the question of “whether and, if so, to what extent a former president enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct allegedly related to official acts during his term in office.” The ruling has direct consequences for the criminal trial against Donald Trump for his conduct during the attempted coup and storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It began with the Justice Department’s special investigation into Donald Trump after the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Special investigator Jack Smith was tasked with investigating the then president’s role. Based on the investigation report, a grand jury brought charges against Trump in Washington (DC) in August 2023. The charges included conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, and violation of the right to vote. However, the allegation that Donald Trump incited the insurrection is not part of the indictment. Donald Trump objected to the charges.
On February 6, 2024, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that Smith could proceed with the trial. “Any executive immunity that protected him while he was President no longer protects him from this prosecution,” the court said. Donald Trump’s lawyers then asked the Supreme Court to clarify the fundamental question of how far the immunity of American presidents extends before a trial. At the end of February, the Supreme Court granted the stay requested by Trump.
When the Supreme Court heard the parties’ case on April 25, the main issue was where to draw the line between official and unofficial actions of a president. A private action could be prosecuted, an official one would be subject to the principle of immunity. If the judges lift Trump’s immunity, it will be decided whether the trial against Donald Trump in Washington (DC) will take place this year. Since the hot phase of the election campaign begins in September, the trial could be seen as interference in a democratic election. If the start of the trial is postponed until next year, the election result will determine whether Trump has to appear in court. If he wins the election, he could pardon himself as US President.
It is also possible that the Supreme Court will send the question of immunity back to lower courts. This would delay the trial against Donald Trump indefinitely.