US Supreme Court refuses to quickly address the question of Trump's immunity
The Supreme Court's decision represents a stage victory for Trump: It likely means that the start of his trial before a Washington federal court on charges of election meddling will be delayed. So far, the trial is scheduled to begin on March 4, in the middle of the Republican presidential primaries. However, the trial cannot take place without the question of immunity being resolved first.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that the trial should not begin until after the presidential election on November 5. His lawyers are therefore relying on delaying tactics.
Trump was indicted by the federal judiciary at the beginning of August for his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and thus keep himself in power. The ex-president's lawyers countered that Trump enjoyed "absolute immunity" and could not be prosecuted for actions that fell within his term of office in the White House.
However, federal judge Tanya Chutkan rejected this argument on December 1. Trump's four years as president "have not conferred upon him the divine right of kings to avoid the criminal liability to which his fellow citizens are subject," she ruled.
Trump's lawyers in turn appealed against Chutkan's decision. Special Prosecutor White then turned to the Supreme Court on December 11. He requested that the Supreme Court should deal with the immunity issue directly, i.e. not wait for the decision of the federal court appealed to by Trump's lawyers first.
By bypassing the appeals court, White wanted to ensure that the trial could begin as planned on March 4. However, the Supreme Court's current decision means that the Court of Appeal will now have to deal with the case first. In the end, however, the case will probably end up in the Supreme Court.
After the election in November 2020, Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat against Democrat Joe Biden. Instead, he raised allegations of massive electoral fraud that have been refuted many times over. Trump's campaign against his election defeat culminated in an attack on the congressional seat in Washington by radical supporters of the unelected incumbent on January 6, 2021.
The current date for the start of the trial for election manipulation is one day before "Super Tuesday", when primaries will be held in around 15 states to determine the candidates in the presidential election on November 5. According to the polls, Trump has the best chance of being nominated again by the Republicans.
Trump has already been charged in four criminal proceedings this year. A civil trial is also currently underway in New York over allegations that the businessman overstated the value of his properties for years.
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Source: www.stern.de
