The US supreme court on Friday declined to decide Donald Trump’s immunity claim in his 2020 election subversion criminal case before his arguments are settled in a lower court.

The decision went against special counsel Jack Smith who on Thursday urged America’s highest court to swiftly take up the issue of whether Trump is, as the former president claims, immune from criminal prosecution on federal charges over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Friday’s decision will slow down the progress of the case against Trump, which had been set to go to trial in March, creating greater tension over the overlap of an intensifying presidential election race in 2024 and Trump’s multiple criminal cases.

The former president is the front runner for the Republican nomination, as he seeks re-election, despite facing dozens of charges in four criminal cases.