The Supreme Court is being urged to rule on whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution on allegations that he colluded to rig the 2020 election results, according to the attorneys general of 22 states.
The brief, signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, states that “before a former President faces a federal criminal trial for the first time in our Nation’s history, this Court should decide whether such a trial is permitted by the Constitution.”
“The timing is suspect, to put it mildly, and it needs to be explained. However, the US has never made one available.
“[T]iming a criminal prosecution to influence an election is no way to protect democracy, and it is not a legitimate end of law enforcement,” the brief states.
Last Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith requested that the Supreme Court deny the former president’s urgent request to postpone the trial.
“Delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict — a compelling interest in every criminal case and one that has unique national importance here,” Smith stated.
The matter, according to him, “involves federal criminal charges against a former president for alleged criminal efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election, including through the use of official power.”