The request by special counsel Jack Smith to fast-track considering former US President Trump's immunity from prosecution in the federal 2020 election interference case has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

This move increases the possibility of his federal 2020 election trial stretching beyond the scheduled March 4 date, as the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will now consider the immunity question, and oral arguments are due to begin on January 9.

In a request earlier this month, Smith asked the high court to decide as fast as possible if Trump is "absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office," according to the filing.

Trump's legal team requested a stay on proceedings following a rejection by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, for arguments that he had immunity from the indictment.

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This comes after Trump's lawyers urged the US Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject Smith's request to quickly rule on whether presidential immunity would protect the 2024 candidate from prosecution.

Trump's legal team said in its filing, "in an omission that speaks volumes, the Special Counsel never explains why March 4, 2024, is supposedly the only 'appropriate timetable' for this historic prosecution," adding "that date has no talismanic significance." They argued that the case should be "resolved in a cautious, deliberative manner — not at breakneck speed" and urged the justices not to "rush to decide the issues with reckless abandon."

'Let's not be too hasty'

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law school professor, told Axios, "This is an effort to keep that trial date as much as reasonably possible with existing legal mechanisms". 

Trump's team has been attempting to delay his trials until after the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

Smith argued in his filing that it was 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."

Trump's appeal of a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled that the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause disqualifies him from appearing on the state's ballots in the election, is also pending. As such, he cannot appear on the state's presidential primary ballot because of his involvement in the attack on the Capitol in January 2021.

Last month, a Michigan state court ruled that Trump is eligible to stay on the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot for the Republican Party after a local activist group Free Speech for People attempted to bar Trump from running for office by filing an “insurrection” lawsuit against him.