Special counsel Jack Smith asks Supreme Court to rule on Trump immunity claim

A special counsel has asked the US Supreme Court to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for an alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election results.

Jack Smith wants the top court to rule quickly on Mr Trump's claim of presidential immunity.

The request comes after Mr Trump sought a delay in his trial while an appeals court decides the matter.

The case is currently scheduled to begin on 4 March in Washington DC.

Mr Smith wrote in his petition to the Supreme Court on Monday: "This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin."

With this move, Mr Smith is attempting to accelerate the time it takes for the US court system to review the former president's appeals - a process that can sometimes last for months or even years.

If Mr Trump's appeal delays the trial beyond the November 2024 election, it raises the possibility that the former president could return to the White House before his case is fully resolved.

That would lead to a new round of legal complications.

"It is of imperative public importance that respondent's claims of immunity be resolved by this court and that respondent's trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected," Mr Smith writes.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Mr Trump's trial, rejected his original request for immunity on 1 December.

The former president is facing multiple civil and criminal charges, including a second case brought by Mr Smith for mishandling classified material after he left office.