Supreme Court: Trump immunity case sent back to lower court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday extended the deadline in Washington's criminal case against Donald Trump, who is accused of plotting to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, ending the former president's prospects of being tried before the November election.

In a historic 6-3 decision, the justices declared for the first time that former presidents enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts and no immunity for their unofficial acts. But rather than do so themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to figure out precisely how to apply the ruling to Trump’s case.

The outcome means an additional delay before Trump can be tried in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

VIDEO: Analysis of the Supreme Court hearing on Trump's presidential immunity request

The courts' decision in a second major case involving Trump this term, along with its ruling rejecting efforts to exclude him from the ballot because of his actions after the 2020 election, underscores the direct and perhaps uncomfortable role that judges play in the November election.

The decision is the last of the session and comes more than two months after the court heard arguments, much more slowly than in other epic high court cases involving the presidency, including the Watergate tapes affair.

The former Republican president has denied doing anything wrong and said this lawsuit and three others were politically motivated to try to prevent him from returning to the White House.

READ MORE: What you need to know about the Supreme Court case over former President Trump's immunity

In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime, in a New York court. He was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment made during the 2016 presidential election to a porn actress who claims she had sex with him, which he denies. He still faces three other charges.

Smith is leading the two federal investigations into the former president, both of which have resulted in criminal charges. The Washington case focuses on Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. The Florida case revolves around the mishandling of classified documents. The other case, in Georgia, also focuses on Trump’s actions after his 2020 defeat.

If Trump's trial in Washington does not take place before the 2024 election and he is not granted four more years in the White House, he will likely be tried shortly thereafter.

LISTEN: Justices ask government what key powers presidential immunity covers

But if he wins, he could appoint an attorney general who would seek to have this case and the other federal charges he faces dismissed. He could also seek a pardon if he wins the White House. He was unable to pardon the New York state court conviction.

The Supreme Court that heard the case included three Trump-appointed justices: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as two justices who chose not to retire after questions were raised about their impartiality.

Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Ginni, attended the rally near the White House where Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, but she did not go to the Capitol when a mob of Trump supporters attacked it shortly afterward. After the 2020 election, she called the operation a robbery and exchanged messages with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging him to stand firm with Trump as he falsely claimed there was widespread voter fraud.

Justice Samuel Alito said he had no reason to recuse himself from the cases after The New York Times reported that flags similar to those carried by the Jan. 6 rioters were flying over his homes in Virginia and on the Jersey Shore. His wife, Martha-Ann Alito, was responsible for displaying the inverted American flag in January 2021 and the Appeal to Heaven banner in the summer of 2023, he said in letters to Democratic lawmakers responding to their requests for his recusal.

LISTEN: Supreme Court appears skeptical of Trump's claim of absolute immunity, but case could be delayed further

Trump's trial was scheduled to begin on March 4, but that was before he requested court-approved delays and a full review of the matter by the nation's highest court.

Before the Supreme Court got involved, a trial judge and a three-judge appeals panel had unanimously ruled that Trump could be sued for actions taken while he was in the White House and in the period leading up to January 6.

In this criminal case, former President Trump became a Trump citizen, with all the defenses of any other criminal defendant, the appeals court wrote in February. But any executive immunity that might have protected him while he was president no longer shields him from this prosecution.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the trial in Washington, ruled in December against Trump's request for immunity. In her decision, Chutkan said that the office of president does not confer a lifetime pass to get out of prison.

Former presidents do not enjoy any special conditions of federal criminal liability, Mr. Chutkan wrote. The defendant is subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction and punishment for any criminal act committed while in office.

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