Top US court will rule on Trump immunity claims

The Supreme Court will deliberate on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.

With a 6-3 conservative majority, the court has chosen to consider Trump’s claims he should be immune from criminal prosecution.

The ruling marks the first time the court has weighed in on such a case.

A US Court of Appeals panel has already rejected Trump’s argument that he enjoys presidential immunity.

Trump had claimed in the landmark legal case that he was immune from all criminal charges for acts he said fell within his duties as president.

But the appeals court ruled unanimously against Trump, writing that: “We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results.”

He appealed the case to the Supreme Court and asked to put that decision on hold.