Special Counsel asks Supreme Court not to delay Trump’s election interference trial

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court should not delay a criminal trial into whether former President Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election while Trump appeals a lower court’s ruling that he has no immunity, prosecutors said in a filing Wednesday.

"A president's alleged criminal scheme to overturn an election should be the last place to recognize a novel form of absolute immunity from federal criminal law," Special Counsel Jack Smith told the court.

But if the court does want to review Trump's immunity claim, Smith continued, the justices should do so on an expedited schedule with oral arguments in March and a decision by summer. That would allow for a trial with a minimum of additional delay, he said.

"The conduct alleged in the indictment is of unparalleled gravity," Smith wrote. "There is a national interest in seeing the crimes alleged in this case resolved promptly."

Trump has asked that the trial, which was paused in December, remain on hold while he pursues his claim that he can't be prosecuted for his actions as president.

How the Supreme Court responds could determine whether a trial can be completed before the November election.

If Trump, the prohibitive favorite for the GOP nomination, is returned to the White House, he could seek a pardon for himself on the federal charges or ask the Justice Department to dismiss pending cases.

Trump faces four separate criminal indictments on both federal and state charges stretching from New York to Florida.

Restarting the federal trial on election interference would sideline Trump from the 2024 campaign, his lawyers have told the court, threatening the First Amendment rights of the tens of millions of American voters who are “entitled” to hear Trump’s campaign message.

In response, Smith pointed out that Trump has been charged with trying to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters by refusing to accept the 2020 election results.

More: How Donald Trump's campaign schedule is headed full speed for a crash with his court dates

Trump’s lawyers suggest prosecutors want to move quickly for political reasons, writing that Smith’s ultimate boss is President Joe Biden. They made that charge despite the fact that special counsels are appointed from outside the Justice Department to avoid any such conflicts.

Trump also argues the trial should not take place at all because presidents need absolute immunity for official actions taken while serving in the White House. Otherwise, his lawyers wrote, the threat of prosecution "will hang like a millstone around every future president’s neck.”

"Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the presidency as we know it will cease to exist," Trump's lawyers have told the court.

They’ve argued a president would have to be impeached and convicted in a Senate trial before he could be charged with crimes including murdering a political rival, accepting bribes or committing treason.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this month definitively rejected Trump’s argument in a unanimous opinion.

Trump wants the full appeals court to reconsider that decision and, if necessary, the Supreme Court, before trial proceedings can resume.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges in the case ? three for conspiracy and one for obstruction ? for falsely claiming election fraud and trying to overturn the legitimate election results.

Prosecutors contend the conspiracies culminated with the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot temporarily prevented Congress from certifying Biden's victory, forced lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to flee and injured more than 140 police officers.

Four justices must agree in order to hear the immunity appeal. It would take five of the nine justices to keep the trial on hold while Trump appeals.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court is also considering whether Trump's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol disqualifies him from the presidency under the Constitution's 14th amendment.

7 takeaways: Supreme Court grapples with leaving Donald Trump on presidential ballot in Colorado

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Special Counsel Jack Smith asks Supreme Court not to delay Trump trial