The US Supreme Court has refused to rule on former President Donald Trump’s claim that he has immunity so, he says, he cannot be prosecuted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
The justices say in their reasoning that a lower court must first rule on the matter.
The BBC comments that Trump’s efforts to delay his trial have been successful, as the matter must now go through the Court of Appeal.
The judges, rejecting the request of special prosecutor Jack Smith, refused to bypass the lower appeals court to speed up their verdict regarding whether or not Trump has criminal immunity ahead of his trial.
Prosecutors accuse Trump, the favorite for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, of attempting to obstruct the work of Congress and defraud the U.S. government by promoting plans to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
For his part, Trump argues that the case should be dismissed because former presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions related to the performance of their official duties. District Judge Tanya Chattan rejected the claim on Dec. 1, and Trump appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Pending the appeal, his trial, originally scheduled for March, is suspended.