Trump faces dozens of charges in the states and at the federal level (Reuters)

An American judge issued a decision banning former US President Donald Trump from running in the Republican Party primary elections in Illinois due to his role in the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021.

Reuters reported that a judge in Illinois issued the decision, which the Trump campaign described as “unconstitutional,” confirming that it would appeal it.

The ruling coincides with the US Supreme Court’s approval yesterday, Wednesday, to hear Trump’s claim that he enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he committed during his presidency, at a time when the potential candidate in the 2024 elections faces dozens of charges at the state and federal levels.

The Supreme Court set the date of next April 22 to hear his arguments, and said that Trump’s trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the result of the 2020 elections will remain suspended at the present time.

Trump was scheduled to be tried on charges of election interference, but the proceedings were frozen as his claim for presidential immunity reached the courts.

The Supreme Court said it would consider the question “whether the former president enjoyed presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his term in office, and if so, to what extent?”

The ruling is expected to be issued by the end of the court's current term next June.

Trump welcomed the Supreme Court's decision, saying, "Without presidential immunity, the president will not be able to work properly or make decisions in the interest of the United States of America."

He added - in a post on his platform, "Truth Social" - that "the president must be free to make appropriate decisions," warning that "he should not be led by fear of retribution."

Immunity from prosecution

A three-judge appeals panel ruled earlier this month that Trump, 77, does not have immunity from prosecution as a former president.

The justices unanimously found that Trump's claim that he enjoys immunity from criminal liability for his actions while in the White House "is not supported by precedent, history, or the text and structure of the Constitution."

The ruling represented a major legal setback for Trump, who is considered the most likely to win the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2024, and the first former president to be indicted on criminal charges.

The former president's lawyers have repeatedly tried to postpone the trial until after next November's elections, so that Trump can drop all federal cases against him if he wins the presidency again.

Source: Agencies