US:  Supreme Court to Hear Case on Trump’s Immunity in April

By Staff, Agencies

The US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from former President Donald Trump over a lower court’s decision against his claim of presidential immunity from criminal liability, which would put on hold at least one of the numerous cases against him until this judgment.

The case has been added to the docket for the week of April 22, and would amount to a historic decision on the extent of presidential immunity even after leaving power. The Trump team is celebrating the decision as a short-term win, as it delays federal criminal prosecution in the Jan 6 case.

Also on Wednesday evening, a judge from the state of Illinois ruled that Trump must be removed from the state’s primary election ballot due to accusations of his role in the Capitol riots, but placed the order on hold to allow for appeals.

The Supreme Court has already begun hearing an appeal from Trump, who was first removed from ballots in the state of Colorado over the 14th Amendment clause in the US Constitution barring those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. Both Illinois and Colorado will have to wait on the Supreme Court decision.

There are dozens of lawsuits filed to remove Trump from ballots across the United States for his alleged role in the Capitol riots, considered by the complainants to constitute an insurrection. The Republican front-runner is facing a total of 91 criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as retaining classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago, and financial crimes related to hush money payments prior to the 2016 election.

In the meantime, Trump welcomed the latest Supreme Court decision to discuss his immunity from criminal liability, writing that without it "Presidents will always be concerned, and even paralyzed, by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office.”

Meanwhile, critics lamented that the Supreme Court could have let the appellate court judgment stand, without intervening and aiding what has been called Trump’s “delay strategy,” due to a cutoff date 60 days before the election when the US Justice Department limits politically sensitive investigations.

Special counsel Jack Smith urged the Supreme Court to swiftly reject Trump's immunity claims, arguing the charged crimes "strike at the heart of our democracy."