(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a pivotal move that could have an enormous impact on the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump has asked the United States Supreme Court to put off his trial for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election, claiming presidential immunity from prosecution.
Lawyers John Lauro, Todd Blanche, and John Sauer submitted an urgent petition to the apex court this Monday, a mere four days subsequent to the justices considering Trump’s separate plea to remain a presidential candidate despite efforts to disqualify him due to his actions after losing the 2020 election.
This step was taken based on a deadline set by the federal appeals court in Washington, which had dismissed Trump’s claims of immunity and decreed that the trial could go forward.
The Supreme Court’s decision could critically influence whether Trump, the leading candidate in the Republican presidential primary, faces trial in this case before the November general election, The New York Post comments in a report.
Trump’s attorneys, John Lauro, Todd Blanche, and John Sauer, have described the DC Circuit Court of Appeals’ rapid decision in the election interference case as “extraordinarily fast.”
“If the prosecution of a President is upheld, such prosecutions will recur and become increasingly common, ushering in destructive cycles of recrimination,” they argued.
The lawyers also painted the picture of a bleak future in which “the President’s political opponents will seek to influence and control his or her decisions via effective extortion or blackmail with the threat, explicit or implicit, of indictment.”
They also insist that such a scenario would severely hamper the president’s ability to perform his or her duties. In turn, this would undermine the presidency’s independence.
The defense insists that Trump’s endeavors to challenge the election outcome from Election Day 2020 until his departure from office in January 2021 were within the scope of his official responsibilities.
As a result, he should be shielded from prosecution based on the principle of stare decisis—which emphasizes the importance of adhering to previous court decisions.
“In 234 years of American history, no President was ever prosecuted for his official acts,” their filing reads.
Moreover, Trump’s legal team argues that he should be immune from prosecution under the concept of double jeopardy because the US Senate acquitted him for his actions related to the attempted decertification of the electoral count and the incitement of a “riot” on January 6, 2021.
