Special counsel Jack Smith filed a 66-page brief Monday urging Supreme Court justices to reject former President Donald Trump’s sweeping claims of presidential immunity as a defense against election interference charges against him .
Trump has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges related to allegations that he tried to overturn the 2020 election. The former president and 2024 GOP front-runner argued that former presidents had “absolute immunity” for official acts taken during their mandate.
But Smith said Trump’s “radical” claims had no historical precedent and risked enabling future presidents to commit crimes ranging from corruption to murder.
“One of the fundamental principles of our constitutional order is that no one is above the law, including the president,” Smith wrote in his paper this week.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Trump’s immunity request on April 25, the final day of oral arguments for the highest court’s current term. Trump had already appealed a lower court’s unanimous ruling that he could be indicted on the charges, leading the Supreme Court to take up the issue.
The top court’s decision to hear Trump’s appeal significantly delayed the start of a possible trial, originally scheduled for March. It’s a major victory for Trump, who is trying to delay his myriad legal problems as long as possible before the November election.
Legal experts told Business Insider last month that they believe the conservative court is unlikely to side with Trump. Still, they said, he would benefit from any delays he could get.
The justices can release their decision at any time after hearing the case later this month. If the court rules against Trump’s immunity request, a possible trial would likely coincide with the height of the election season. If the SCOTUS ruled in favor of Trump’s arguments, the charges against him would be dropped.
Trump has made several false statements about the 2020 election and is accused of trying to use fake voters to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Neither the Justice Department nor a representative for Trump immediately responded to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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