ATLANTA/WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US special investigator Jack Smith has asked the Supreme Court on the question of the ex-president’s immunity Donald Trump turned on. The country’s highest court should quickly clarify whether the Republican could be prosecuted at the federal level for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, it said in a corresponding motion on Monday. “This case involves issues of exceptional national importance,” Smith wrote. “This case should therefore be decided expeditiously so that the trial can proceed if and when the defendant’s request for immunity is denied.”
Trump is indicted in the US capital Washington for attempted election fraud. Trump supporters stormed the parliament building in Washington on January 6, 2021. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters during a speech. As a result of the riots, five people died. Trump recently filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The 77-year-old justified this with the immunity of the presidency.
However, he failed. “The defendant’s four years of service as commander-in-chief did not give him the divine right of kings to evade criminal liability that applies to his fellow citizens,” the judge responsible wrote in the reasons for the verdict. However, it was to be expected that the Supreme Court would ultimately have to deal with the question. Trump had already indicated that he would appeal the decision. With this step, Smith is now trying to bypass an appeals court and thus speed up the process. The process is scheduled to begin in March of next year./nau/DP/men