US Special Counsel Jack Smith – the bloke charged with investigating former US President Donald Trump’s role in the 2021 riot on the Capitol – has asked the Supreme Court to decide if Trump can be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed while in office. It’s a question that keeps coming up, and Smith wants an answer before the criminal trial gets going next year. “This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution,” Smith said. The Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track the request and ordered Trump’s lawyers to file their response by 20 December as they continue to call the prosecution politically motivated. Whatever the answer, experts say it will be a significant moment in US legal history – but that’s Trump for you…