Immediate impacts

The Supreme Court's decision on Trump’s fight for immunity will have immediate impacts in pending cases

From CNN's John Fritze

The Supreme Court’s most closely watched dispute this year — a case questioning whether former President Donald Trump may claim immunity from federal election subversion charges — also has the potential to be one of the hardest to parse for meaning in real time.

In between Trump’s initial demand for total immunity and an appeals court ruling earlier this year that found he’s entitled to no protection at all is a murky gap with massive practical implications for whether he can be tried before the November election.

At issue is special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, including with his actions on January 6, 2021, though the court’s decision could have implications for other criminal cases against Trump as well.

In addition to the bottom line ruling about whether Trump is immune from prosecution could be important clues about how quickly the matter will go to trial.

“Trump has already won something,” said Jonathan Entin, a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law. “As a practical matter, Trump has gained time here, regardless of how the court decides the case.”