For most of our nation's history, the Supreme Court has acted to make sure that the Constitution is upheld, and it has done so in a political-neutral way. Unfortunately, that no longer seems to be true. The current Court is a very political one. Instead of making sure actions and laws are consistent with the Constitution, they are interpreting the Constitution to fit the agenda of right-wing Republicans.
This week they made the rather shocking decision to hear Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity. Most had thought the Court wouldn't take this case. It seems obvious that a finding of presidential immunity would put the president above the law. That would be unimaginable in a nation built on the idea of equality under Constitutional law. One of our most sacred beliefs is that no one is above the law.
Putting the president above the law would be tantamount to giving him/her dictatorial power (since he/she could not be charged with a crime - no matter how egregious an action taken). He/she could imprison, or even kill, political opponents, take action to censor or ban the media, sell access to the White House and decisions made by the president, etc.
I don't think the court's right-wingers would go that far. Giving a president immunity from the law would also apply to Democratic presidents - and they certainly don't want to allow that!
So, why did they decide to hear the case - a case they are extremely unlikely to uphold. It was purely a political decision - not a constitutional one. It was to give Donald Trump and the Republican Party a delay of the trials Trump faces.
They won't hear the case until late in April, and won't announce a decision until probably late in June. The federal trials cannot go forward until their decision is announced, and a late June announcement would mean the trials probably couldn't be held before the November elections.
That is what Trump and the Republicans wanted. If they could delay the trials until after the election, and then Trump win that election, the cases would probably go away. A Trump Justice Department could simply drop the charges. Or Trump could pardon himself (since the Constitution gives the president pardon power, but doesn't say he can't use it on himself).
This was a political move by the most political Supreme Court in U.S. history!
