What to listen for during Supreme Court arguments on Donald Trump and presidential immunity

The Supreme Court hears arguments Thursday over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It's a historic day for the court, with the justices having an opportunity to decide once and for all whether former presidents can be prosecuted for official acts they take while in the White House.

There are no cameras in the courtroom, but since the pandemic, the court has livestreamed its argument sessions. Listen live on apnews.com/live/trump-supreme-court-arguments-updates or the court’s website at www.supremecourt.gov. C-SPAN also will carry the arguments at www.c-span.org. Expect to hear talk about the impeachment process and the relationship, if any, to criminal prosecution. Central to Trump's immunity argument is the claim that only a former president who was impeached and convicted by the Senate can be criminally prosecuted. Trump was impeached over his efforts to undo the election in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But he was acquitted, not convicted, by the Senate in 2021.

There's going to be plentiful discussion about Nixon but not necessarily for the reasons one might think. Trump's team has repeatedly drawn attention to a 1982 case, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, in which the Supreme Court held that a former president cannot be sued in civil cases for their actions while in office. The case concerned the firing of an Air Force analyst, A. Ernest Fitzgerald, who testified before Congress about cost overruns in the production of a transport plane.

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Supreme Court Would Look 'Harshly' at Donald Trump Gag Order: Legal AnalystJonathan Turley says a recent gag order imposed on Donald Trump by Judge Juan Merchan has 'major constitutional problems.'
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »

Donald Trump's Former Lawyer Backs Jack Smith in Supreme Court FightIndividuals appointed in five different presidential administrations urged the Supreme Court to reject Trump's immunity request.
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »

Jack Smith tells Supreme Court to reject Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity: 'Unprecedented'Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity.
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »

Supreme Court to review feds' use of obstruction charge against Jan. 6 defendants, Donald TrumpThe fate of hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants lies with the Supreme Court, which will hear a case Tuesday arguing that the obstruction law under which they were charged was never meant to apply to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »

Donald Trump tells Supreme Court framers of Constitution would back his absolute immunity claimFormer President Trump argued in a Supreme Court brief filed Monday that the Constitution's framers would have supported his position that a president can't face criminal prosecution for official acts.
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »

Supreme Court grapples with obstruction charge for 350 Jan. 6 defendants, including Donald TrumpThe Supreme Court struggled Tuesday with the government's case against 350 Jan. 6 defendants from the 2021 protest at the Capitol, with justices pondering how a law written in the wake of the Enron document-shredding scandal can be applied to those who brought the 2020 election certification to a halt.
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »