Donald Trump’s immunity case: What to know as Supreme Court hears arguments

Since federal prosecutors charged Donald Trump last year with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results, the former president has argued that he enjoys broad immunity for actions he took while in the White House. After months of legal wrangling, the Supreme Court takes up the question Thursday, in a case with profound legal consequences as well as political ramifications, including whether Trump will face a federal trial this fall while in the stretch run of the presidential campaign.

Here’s what you should know.

In a four-count indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump was charged with conspiring to subvert the will of voters by propounding false claims of election fraud and organizing fake slates of electors. His conspiracies “culminated and converged" on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors said, when Trump sought to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory.

Each of the conspiracies, prosecutors said, “targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election." The indictment charged Trump alone but referred to six alleged co-conspirators, including allies identifiable as Rudy Giuliani and several other lawyers who helped Trump contest his loss. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Trump’s lawyers have emphasized the president’s singular role in the American system of government, arguing that the commander in chief can’t function with the specter of potential criminal prosecution for official acts.

“To ensure the President may serve unhesitatingly, without fear that his political opponents may one day prosecute him for decisions they dislike, the law provides absolute immunity," his