As Donald Trump returns to a New York courtroom for another day of his hush money trial, another team of his lawyers will argue before the Supreme Court in a case that is paramount to his fate.
The judges will examine whether his conduct as president gives him broad immunity from prosecution.
The Supreme Court’s decision will not affect current proceedings in Manhattan, but they will likely determine whether Trump’s Jan. 6 case – in which he is accused of conspiring to retain power – moves forward.
The justices’ opinions may also ultimately set the ground rules for any future president, as they weigh questions that have never been so directly before the court.
Many legal scholars expect the justices will decide that Trump does not have immunity, but how quickly the Supreme Court decides is almost as important. That will impact when a federal trial in the Jan. 6 case can begin, with figures like Liz Cheney urging judges to act quickly to ensure the trial can take place before the election.
“No president who attempts to steal an election and seize power is entitled to immunity for those actions,” Cheney wrote on X/Twitter this week. “The American people deserve to hear all of the J6 evidence in court. SCOTUS should immediately conclude that immunity does not apply here.”
The justices could also make a less monumental decision, such as issuing an opinion on Trump’s allegations and allowing lower courts to decide future immunity issues on a case-by-case basis.
John Sauer, the former attorney general of Missouri, will argue for Trump. Before an appeals hearing in January, his main argument was that a president could not be prosecuted for official acts unless he was first impeached and convicted by the Senate. The appeals judges disagreed – one noted that it meant a president could order Seal Team 6 to kill a political opponent without being prosecuted.
The appeals court ruled unanimously that Trump did not enjoy immunity. “For purposes of this criminal proceeding, former President Trump has become Citizen Trump, with all the defenses of any other criminal defense attorney. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him during his term as President no longer protects him from this prosecution,” they wrote .
The judge in Trump’s case in New York, Juan Merchan, made it clear that the former president could not attend oral arguments in the Supreme Court and would have to be present at his trial in New York.
Michael Dreeben, an adviser to the Justice Department’s special counsel, will argue for federal prosecutors.
There were only a few protesters outside the courthouse this morning, including one carrying a large mock Trump campaign poster that read “LOSER.”
Viewers will be able to listen to arguments on C-SPAN and in live audio broadcasts from cable news networks, unlike the Trump money trial, which limits the broadcast of images and audio from the courtroom.