Supreme Court won’t take up Trump’s criminal immunity, for now
BY ZACH SCHONFELD AND REBECCA BEITSCH - 12/22/23 2:38 PM ET
The Supreme Court declined to take up whether President Trump can be prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, punting for now the question on the limits of presidential immunity as the former president seeks to toss the case.
The refusal, which had no noted dissents, comes as an appeals court weighs a motion from Trump to dismiss the case; he argues he has absolute presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s gambit to skip over an intermediate appeals court and bring the issue directly before the Supreme Court was aimed at keeping the schedule of the trial — the first of Trump’s four criminal proceedings — on track.
While the Supreme Court agreed to expedited briefing over whether to formally take up the matter, the justices ultimately sided with Trump, who argued the case should first be considered by the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, which scheduled a Jan. 9 hearing.
The justices’ one-sentence order was unsigned and included no explanation.
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https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4374066-supreme-court-jack-smith-trump-criminal-immunity/
