Trump has warned the Supreme Court that rejecting his immunity claim would “end the presidency as we know it”.

(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that future presidents could be vulnerable to “de facto blackmail and extortion while in office” if justices don’t accept his broad view of immunity from election fraud charges in the case of special prosecutor Jack Smith. .

“The consequences of this court’s stance on presidential immunity are not limited to President Trump,” the former president’s lawyers told the court in a new brief. “If immunity is not recognized, every future president will be forced to deal with the possibility of criminal prosecution after leaving office whenever he makes a politically controversial decision.”

“It would be the end of the presidency as we know it and would irreparably damage our republic,” they wrote.

Trump’s brief comes weeks after the Supreme Court returned to the former president’s legal woes by agreeing to decide whether he can claim immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The Supreme Court has fixed April 25 as the date for arguments.

On Tuesday, the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for the White House tripled down on claims of presidential immunity that lower courts have rejected in rounds. His arguments before the High Court sought to frame the issue in a way that would define not only his fate, but the fate of all future presidents.

He also emphasized the arguments that the Supreme Court had already indicated that it was not interested in the case. Trump has argued that he can only be prosecuted criminally if he is first impeached and convicted of similar conduct by Congress.