Trump asks Supreme Court to extend delay in election case, claiming presidential immunity

Former President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to extend the delay in the trial stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election interference case, arguing that he has presidential immunity to protect him from prosecution.

Trump attorneys on Monday afternoon filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court just days after a D.C. appeals court ruled the former president and 2024 GOP front-runner is not immune from prosecution in Smith's case.

TRUMP NOT IMMUNE FROM PROSECUTION IN 2020 ELECTION CASE, FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES

The request is for temporary relief, to stay or block the appeals court mandate from taking effect, which would give the Trump legal team more time to file an appeal to the Supreme Court on the merits of whether a former president deserves immunity from criminal prosecution for actions while in office.

The trial stemming from Smith's case against Trump is on hold pending resolution of the immunity question.

The Justice Department may ask for expedited consideration of this initial emergency appeal.

"If the prosecution of a President is upheld, such prosecutions will recur and become increasingly common, ushering in destructive cycles of recrimination," the request states. "Criminal prosecution, with its greater stigma and more severe penalties, imposes a far greater ‘personal vulnerability’ on the President than any civil penalty."

The request adds, "The threat of future criminal prosecution by a politically opposed Administration will overshadow every future President’s official acts — especially the most politically controversial decisions."

The request states that the president's "political opponents will seek to influence and control his or her decisions via effective extortion or blackmail