Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court Monday to consider whether former President Trump is immune from prosecution in his 2020 election case.
Smith asked the justices to take Trump’s case before a judgement is reached in the lower courts to consider the former president’s claim that he is immune from prosecution. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan declined to toss Trump’s case based on presidential immunity early December.
“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected,” Smith told the Court.
“Respondent’s claims are profoundly mistaken, as the district court held,” he continued. “But only this Court can definitively resolve them.” (RELATED: Trump To Appeal Judge’s Rejection Of His Bid To Dismiss 2020 Election Case Based On Presidential Immunity)
The trial to consider Smith’s charges against Trump stemming from his alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election is currently scheduled to begin in the district court on March 4.
Smith wrote that the United States “recognizes that this is an extraordinary request.”
“This is an extraordinary case,” the petition states. “The Court should grant certiorari and set a briefing schedule that would permit this case to be argued and resolved as promptly as possible.”
Chutkan wrote Dec. 1 that the presidency does not “confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”
“Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability,” she wrote.
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