The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it would not bypass a federal appeals court to determine whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election—a big blow to special prosecutor Jack Smith, who’d requested the fast track last week.
Now, the case will move forward in an appeals court, with a return to the Supreme Court likely following sometime next year.
Whether Trump’s position as president grants him criminal immunity or not has been a central issue in the case. In its announcement Friday, the Supreme Court issued a one-line, unsigned order that rejected Smith’s request.
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“The petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is denied,” the order read, not citing any dissents from justices.
Smith gambled that the justices might take the rare step of quickly deciding a fundamental issue in the election subversion case against Trump in hopes it’d force Trump to face trial ahead of the 2024 election.
It’s a major win for Trump, whose lawyers have consistently been accused by Smith of utilizing any delay tactic they can to push back Trump’s four criminal indictments, two of which are being prosecuted by Smith.
In a motion countering Smith’s initial request to the Supreme Court, Trump’s attorneys said Smith was trying to “rush to decide the issues with reckless abandon,” adding, “The fact that this case arises in the vortex of political dispute warrants caution, not haste.”
Smith failed to argue that the public deserved to have an answer on Trump’s immunity well before the 2024 election.
“The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request,” Smith’s motion said. “This is an extraordinary case.”
District Judge Tanya Chuktan, who is overseeing the criminal case, had already rejected arguments from Trump that his indictment should be tossed because he was working to “ensure election integrity” as part of his official capacity as president in 2020 when he spewed unfounded voter fraud conspiracies.
Trump’s attorneys appealed Chuktan’s decision, and an expedited review of the issue is already underway at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Oral arguments are expected to begin on Jan. 9.
Trump’s election subversion trial is currently set to begin in March, but could be delayed if the issue eventually reaches the Supreme Court, as is expected.
