Such a ruling in the case, on whether the former president is immune from prosecution, would probably send it back to a lower court and could delay any trial until after the November election.

On the left and right, Supreme Court justices seem to agree on a basic truth about the American system of government: No one is above the law, not even the president

The Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity almost certainly will mean more pretrial hearings for Donald Trump, delaying his election obstruction trial.

Is the Supreme Court about to hand Donald Trump another legal lifeline? Today, after three hours of arguments before the justices, that scenario at least seemed possible. The court’s conservative majority — which Trump himself helped to create — signaled that it was leaning toward narrowing the scope of the criminal case in which he stands accused of plotting to subvert the 2020 election.

For nearly three hours on Thursday, the Supreme Court weighed whether former presidents are immune from prosecution and what exactly it means if they are. Its answer will determine whether former President Donald Trump can be tried on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election.