The Supreme Court has announced it will hear the argument concerning former President Donald Trump’s claims of immunity from prosecution.
The high court had said it would hear the argument at the center of his federal election subversion case the week of April 22, according to SCOTUSblog, but on Wednesday set the exact date as April 25, in what CNN called a “rare Thursday session.”
According to the court’s public schedule, it is the only case being held that day. April 26 is listed as a conference day. April 29 is an order list issuance day.
News of the session came hours after Trump all but swept the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses.
The case is on the final day of the argument calendar, The Washington Post reported and could determine if the former president will have to face trial on charges that he had tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election and how fast the trial could occur.
The court had decided to hear the arguments, delaying the election obstruction case brought by Special Council Jack Smith, which was supposed to start this week, the newspaper reported. If the justices had decided not to hear the case, the lower court decision would stand, meaning that the former president could have been prosecuted.
The Post had previously reported that if the Supreme Court rejects Trump’s stance in May or June, deciding that he could face charges, the trial could start within six to 12 weeks, but still before the 2024 election in November. But the timing could be longer depending on how they rule — if they make a judge separate the actions covered by immunity from ones that don’t — it could push the timeline closer to November’s election day and while mail-in voting would already be happening.
Smith had pushed to bring Trump to trial quickly, CNN reported.
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