Trump's lawyer is arguing immunity in front of the Supreme Court.Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images;Chelsea Jia Feng/BiJustices are under pressure to issue a quick ruling on Donald Trump's sweeping immunity claim.Special counsel Jack Smith wants justices to send the case right to trial.A delay would increase the likelihood Trump avoids another potential trial before the election.Within the first minutes of the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments Thursday in a landmark case over whether former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution in a federal case over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, a hypothetical question surrounding a president ordering an assassination was posed."If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person, and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can get immunity?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Trump's attorney D. John Sauer.Sauer argued it could."It would depend on the hypothetical. We can see that could well be an official act," Saur replied.Sotomayor interjected, "It could, and why? Because he's doing it for personal reasons.""And isn't that the nature of the allegations here, that he's not doing these acts in furtherance of an official responsibility, he's doing it for personal gain?" Sotomayer asked.Sauer followed up, "I agree with that characterization of the indictment and that confirms immunity."Sauer and the justices spent some time Thursday morning debating whether certain hypothetical situations would be considered "private acts" or an "official acts" under Sauer's argument.The nation's highest court will weigh whether to fully or even partially support Trump's unprecedented claim of presidential immunity, which protects former presidents from facing criminal charges if their actions were related to the job.It's unclear when the Supreme Court will release its decision on Trump's claims. If the justices adhere to their normal schedule, a ruling would be released at the end of June. Special counsel Jack Smith has urged justices to deal with the former president's case quickly so the trial over Trump's underlying charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election can proceed.Trump's trial was supposed to have begun last month, but depending on how the Supreme Court rules in this case, it could be delayed past the election. Legal observers have repeatedly pointed out that the former president could count it as a victory even if justices reject his sweeping immunity claims if their decision takes up more time. If Trump were to win the election in November, he could even find ways to scuttle Smith's prosecution entirely.As of now, Trump's Manhattan hush-money trial is his only criminal trial to have started. Trump could not attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court due to the New York trial, in which he stands charged with 34 counts of business fraud related to hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.His other cases, including another Smith-led case focused on Trump's hoarding of classified documents, don't yet have trial dates and are unlikely to be tried before the election.The justices could also fundamentally change the presidency itself. Never before has a former president faced criminal prosecution. Their ruling could have sweeping effects on the future of the presidency, particularly if they accept some of Trump's argument that a Nixon-era Supreme Court decision on civil immunity applies to criminal charges as well. Smith and many legal scholars have argued that such immunity could empower the presidency to the point where the nation's highest office in the land would be above the law the executive branch is required to enforce.Trump and his allies have repeatedly hinted that if immunity is not granted, they may try to prosecute President Joe Biden as a form of retribution.The former president has never been shy about suggesting his political rivals should be sent to prison.Read the original article on Business Insider
