The Daily Fuckup

The Supreme Court has not decided Donald Trump’s immunity claim. What it has done is move the case onto a compressed calendar: on Feb. 28, the justices granted review on the question of whether, and to what extent, a former president enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts, and said the case would be argued during the week of April 22. The court also directed the D.C. Circuit to keep withholding its mandate until the Supreme Court sends down its own judgment. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html))

That procedural posture matters. The order did not bless Trump’s legal theory, and it did not preview where the court is likely to land. It simply kept the case in suspension while the justices took up the immunity question on the merits, with petitioner and respondent briefs due in March and early April and a reply brief due by April 15. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html))

The dispute grows out of the federal election-interference case tied to Trump’s efforts after losing the 2020 election. Trump’s position is broad: he is asking the court to recognize criminal immunity for official acts even after he leaves office. The Justice Department’s special counsel has argued the opposite, pressing the court to allow the prosecution to proceed. The stakes are obvious. A sweeping immunity rule would make future prosecutions of former presidents harder; a narrow ruling or outright rejection would remove a major defense from Trump’s arsenal in this case. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html))

For now, the only settled point is procedural, not substantive. The court accelerated the case, preserved the pause on the lower court’s judgment, and set the constitutional fight for argument in late April. As of April 6, Trump had not won immunity, and the court had not said he would not. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html))