Donald Trump requested immunity in the case in which he takes blame for attempting to undermine and change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which may have led to the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021.
Trump believes he enjoys immunity for his actions as president, but the court has not agreed to this.
On Tuesday, it was rejected unanimously by a jury in Washington, D.C
Therefore, Trump must appear in court and answer for the debts. American expert Sophie Hogestol was not surprised by the announcement of his lack of immunity.
– Very few people thought he would win this case.
The former president faces four charges, including questioning the outcome of the elections, in addition to the role he played in storming the conference.
Trump has always denied criminal guilt on all charges.
The trial was expected to begin on March 4 of this year. But now the date has been postponed indefinitely. The reason is that the case can be referred to the Supreme Court, if the court wishes to take up the case.
Hogestol believes raising the issue of immunity was part of a strategy on Trump's part:
– He succeeded in delaying perhaps the most important criminal case against him.
– If the criminal case had begun as planned on March 4, he would not have become a Republican presidential nominee, Hogestol says.
Donald Trump has several cases against him. In January, he appeared in court in connection with a civil case, where he was charged with fraud.
Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/AFP
Trump has experience with civil cases against him, but the court case over electoral influence is historic. Never before has a former US president been indicted in a federal criminal case.
It's about an election campaign
But before the Supreme Court addresses the immunity issue, it has another Trump-related case on the table.
The Republican is running for reelection this year, but has been removed from the voting seat in Colorado. On Thursday, the court is scheduled to hear arguments related to Trump's disqualification.
But that doesn't mean much to the presidential candidate anyway. He has won every election for the Republican nomination so far, in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Hogestol says Trump is likely to win.
This summer, Republicans will hold a national convention. If he can coach the case until then, the judge and jury must decide whether they want to proceed with the case against a presidential candidate during the campaign, says US expert Hogestol.
Hogestol believes the Supreme Court will then face a difficult dilemma. Never before has a presidential candidate been prosecuted during an election campaign.
– It puts the prosecution and the court in an uncomfortable position, because the criminal case suddenly becomes more political than it already is.
But if the Supreme Court waits until Trump eventually wins the election, he will be the one who appoints the attorney general, and thus will have more power over the Justice Department.
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