The US Supreme Court may have prevented Donald Trump from facing a criminal trial for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election before the next one, or even avoided a trial altogether if he wins the presidency in November and attempts to tell his administration to shut down the cases against him. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is “immune” from prosecution for actions committed while in office, including leading a multi-state scheme to pressure officials to overturn election results and failing to stop a mob of his supporters from storming the US Capitol by force. A federal judge and a federal appeals court have knocked down this defense in damning rulings that outline why the president can’t evade liability for crimes committed while in office. However, the nation’s highest court agreed to take up the case after Trump asked them to hit pause on those orders.
The pile of civil and criminal cases has created Russian nesting dolls of courtroom battles, with seemingly every case spinning off into appeals courts and separate debates over evidence, gag orders, and legal strategies, all of which are buying him time and increasing the likelihood that he won’t face a trial until after the election. If the Supreme Court does not allow this matter to be adjudicated this year, they will be complicit in this grave offense and aid in the failure of accountability and danger to American democracy.
Tom Joscelyn, who drafted the final report from the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the attack on the Capitol, said Americans are entitled to hear the facts of the case and evidence at trial.