"The already-slim likelihood that Donald Trump will face a criminal trial brought by special counsel Jack Smith before the 2024 election appeared to dwindle further Thursday in the face of withering scrutiny from the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.

One by one, the court’s six Republican-appointed justices — including three nominated by Trump himself — took whacks at Smith’s effort to quickly and cleanly reject Trump’s claim of immunity from criminal prosecution over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election.

Instead, during more than 2 1/2 hours of oral argument, the justices forecast a result that could require lower courts to spend months analyzing various aspects of Trump’s election plot, from organizing fraudulent slates of electors to leaning on his Justice Department to sow false doubts about the results. The purpose of those additional lower-court proceedings, several conservative justices suggested, would be to determine if some of the acts alleged in the special counsel’s indictment count as sufficiently “official” presidential duties that they ought to be shielded from criminal charges.

Even if Smith were to win those battles, it would virtually ensure that a trial could not happen until after the election."

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/25/trump-supreme-court-immunity-arguments-00154324