Because the justices will hear a separate case in the upcoming months that could have an impact on two of the counts against him, Donald Trump's criminal election trial should be postponed, according to lawyers for the president on Thursday.
Since the justices will soon decide whether Joseph Fischer, a defendant in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, can be accused of obstructing an official proceeding, the attorneys urged the Supreme Court to slow down the trial proceedings in part. Trump is accused of conspiring to obstruct a legal process.
Trump's request to freeze a court order rejecting his claim in this case of immunity from prosecution was filed on Monday, and the court has the right to do so at any time after this filing.
The attorneys referred to the four criminal counts that Special Counsel Jack Smith brought in the case in a brief, saying that it makes no sense to conduct an intricate criminal trial while this court is still hearing cases that could render half of the indictment's charges invalid.
The Supreme Court was urged to reject Trump's request to further postpone trial proceedings as he presses his claim of presidential immunity in response to a filing by Smith on Wednesday. Smith requested that the justices take up the case and decide the immunity issue quickly if they do not immediately reject Trump's request.
Trump reiterated his claim that the case was politically motivated in his Thursday filing, which stated that a trial shouldn’t take place before the immunity dispute has been resolved. Before the November election, in which President Trump is the front-runner against Biden, the special counsel wants to put him on trial and win a conviction.
