The Supreme Court will decide how quickly Donald Trump is prosecuted

“THE SUPREME COURT”, Donald Trump tweeted in December 2020, “has a chance to save our country from the greatest election abuse in the history of the United States.” America’s justices pleas from Mr Trump and his allies to pilfer the 2020 election on his behalf. But as the 45th president competes in the 2024 contest his fortunes may again rest on the court he helped shape.On December 11th , the special counsel prosecuting Mr Trump for extralegal attempts to the last election after dozens of far-fetched lawsuits failed, filed what he acknowledged was an “extraordinary request” at the Supreme Court. Mr Smith asked the justices to resolve “as promptly as possible” whether former presidents are “absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office”—a claim Mr Trump has been pushing. The request was for “certiorari before judgment”, a rare attempt (more common in recent years) to short-circuit the usual appellate path by asking the justices to weigh in before the circuit court has completed its review.