The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear Donald Trump's claim that as a former president he enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, as the 2024 White House candidate faces dozens of state and federal charges. 

The court scheduled arguments in the high-stakes case for the week of April 22 and said Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election would remain on hold for now.

Trump had been scheduled to go on trial for election interference on March 4 but the proceedings have been frozen as his presidential immunity claim wound its way through the courts.

The Supreme Court said it would address the question of "whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office."

It will be among the most consequential election law cases to reach the court since it halted the Florida vote recount in 2000 with Republican George W. Bush narrowly leading Democrat Al Gore.

A three-judge appeals court panel ruled earlier this month that the 77-year-old Trump has no immunity from prosecution as a former president.

Trump's claim to be immune from criminal liability for actions he took while in the White House is "unsupported by precedent, history or the text and structure of the Constitution," the judges said in a unanimous opinion.

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 24, 2024. /CFP)