Supreme Court rules Trump has some immunity, delays trial

Supreme Court rules Trump has some immunity, delays trial

Former US President Donald Trump has been granted some immunity from prosecution, according to the US Supreme Court who have delayed a decision being made on Trump's convictions.

The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are entitled to immunity from prosecution for official acts taken when in office, but do not have immunity for unofficial acts.

The decision will throw the case back to a lower court which will conclude how to apply the ruling and ultimately delay the trial, potentially past November's upcoming presidential election.

Trump is currently charged in a federal election interference case for pressuring officials to reverse the 2020 election result and seeking to exploit the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.

The court made its decision 6-3 after over 2 hours of arguments on the case, which is the first of its kind to question whether presidents have immunity from prosecution.

Justices deliberating on the case were quick to describe its historical implications with Justice Brett Kavanaugh saying, "This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country, in my view."

The trial is one of four that Donald Trump is facing. He was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records over a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.