by Devin Dwyer and Katherine Faulders at ABC News
A day after former President Donald Trump filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to stay last week’s appeals court decision that rejected his claim of absolute immunity from prosecution in special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case, the court on Tuesday asked the special counsel to respond within a week.
The Supreme Court asked for the special counsel to file his response by the afternoon of Feb. 20.
After that filing, Trump’s legal team will get a chance to file a reply, after which the court can act on Trump’s request at any time, at its discretion.
Trump, who in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is seeking the dismissal of the case on the grounds that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation’s highest office.
Last week a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s claim of presidential immunity, clearing the way for Trump to seek to appeal the issue to the Supreme Court.
In Trump’s application to the Supreme Court,…
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