Posted on 12/11/23
| News Source: FOX News
Special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Smith's Monday filing seeks to go around an appeals court that had initially been expected to handle the case. A federal judge had earlier ruled that the prosecution could move forward, though Trump's legal team vowed to appeal the ruling.
"This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin," prosecutors wrote in Monday's filing.
Trump's trial in the election interference case is set to begin in March.
The Washington election interference case is one of four indictments to hit Trump over the past year. He also faces charges of mishandling classified documents arising from Florida, business fraud charges in New York, and more election interference charges in Georgia.
Trump is already engaged in a civil fraud trial in New York City. He had been expected to testify personally in the trial, but he announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday, that he no longer plans to testify.