Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to expedite the immunity case against former President Donald Trump has been denied by the Supreme Court. 

The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, including three Trump-nominated justices, provided a one-line order without specifying the reason for the decision.

Trump, the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is slated for trial on March 4, 2024, facing charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden. 

Trump’s legal team has consistently sought trial delays, asserting the claim of “absolute immunity” for a former president, arguing that he cannot be prosecuted for actions taken while in office.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, set to preside over Trump’s trial, rejected the immunity claim on December 1, stating that a former president does not possess a “lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.” 

“Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” she said.

Trump’s appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit prompted Special Counsel Jack Smith to request the Supreme Court’s intervention.

Smith emphasized the significance of resolving the immunity claims promptly and ensuring a fair and speedy trial if immunity is not granted.

“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office,” Smith said in a filing to the Supreme Court.

“It is of paramount public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved as expeditiously as possible — and, if respondent is not immune, that he receive a fair and speedy trial on these charges,” he said.