The Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a massive victory on Wednesday by agreeing to rule on whether he is immune from prosecution for acts committed while he was president. The court will hear arguments on April 22 and won’t hand down a decision until June — which means it’s unlikely a trial in the Justice Department’s election interference case will commence before the election. If Trump wins the election, he’ll of course appoint an attorney general who will toss the case, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules this summer.
By Wednesday night, Trumpland was celebrating.
“Literally popping champagne right now,” a lawyer close to Donald Trump told Rolling Stone late on Wednesday.
Various Trump advisers and sources close to the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner were jubilant about the Supreme Court’s decision, with all of them now viewing it as highly unlikely that a federal election interference trial will happen before Election Day. Though a Trump criminal trial in New York is expected to begin next month, the former president’s team had long viewed a Jan. 6-related trial as more politically damaging. For months, Trump’s lawyers expected the federal trial to start this summer, and they have actively prepared for that scenario. Now, they likely don’t have to worry about that timeline.
The Trump 2024 campaign was fundraising off the court’s latest move hours after it happened. “BREAKING FROM TRUMP: My case is going to the SUPREME COURT!” the campaign texted supporters. “Presidents NEED IMMUNITY.” (This is, however, a position that Trump doesn’t actually hold when it comes to President Joe Biden, who he wants prosecuted.)
Trump has long been campaigning on the idea that presidents, particularly himself, should have free rein to commit crimes while in office — including crimes that “cross the line,” as he wrote on Truth Social in January.
His lawyers feel similarly. Trending Republicans Are Basically Admitting the Hunter Biden Deposition Was a Bust The Diddy Allegations Aren’t Entertainment. They’re Disturbing Trump's Team 'Literally Popping Champagne' Over Supreme Court Taking Up Immunity Claim Rust Trial: Alec Baldwin Heard Rushing Reloads in Outtakes Shown to Jurors
Trump has been trying to get the Justice Department’s election interference case tossed over the idea that because he was president while he was trying to overturn the 2020 election results, he should be immune from prosecution. During oral arguments before the D.C. Court of Appeals in January, the former president’s lawyers argued that presidential immunity should cover everything, even having political rivals assassinated. The court disagreed, unanimously rejecting Trump’s immunity claim earlier this month. “Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary authority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct,” the judges wrote.
Trump appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which obliged him on Wednesday. Now voters will likely head to the polls in November with the case still hanging in the balance.