The Supreme Court Takes On Trump’s Immunity Appeal
Yesterday the Supreme Court announced it will take up former President Donald Trump’s immunity appeal, scheduling oral argument for the week of April 22. This prevents the criminal trial against Trump from moving forward until the Court decides the appeal.
Trump’s immunity claim that he is protected from criminal prosecution for actions taken while President is meritless and makes a mockery of the Constitution.
The D.C. Circuit Court soundly rejected Trump’s immunity claim and the Supreme Court will almost certainly reject it as well. No one, not even a former President, is above the law.
But winning the case on the merits is not what Trump appears to be seeking. Far more important to him is delaying the case until after the election. Then if Trump wins the presidency, he can order his Justice Department to end the case.
By setting the week of April 22 for oral argument, more than seven weeks from now, the Supreme Court has seriously jeopardized the ability of federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to conduct this trial before the election.
The case here, United States v. Donald J. Trump, was brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. It deals with whether Trump will be held criminally accountable for his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for inciting the violent January 6, 2021 mob attack on the Capitol.
The key issue now is how quickly the Supreme Court will issue a decision following the oral argument.
In an ordinary case before the Supreme Court, arguments in April would typically mean a decision in late June. In this case, waiting that long could push the trial’s start to late September, making a verdict before the election exceedingly difficult if not impossible.
That would be a grave error.
The Supreme Court can and has acted quickly before in cases of historic importance like this.
That’s what the Court did in New York Times v. United States, the 1971 Pentagon Papers case, when it ruled just four days after oral argument.
That’s what the Court did in U.S. v. Nixon, the 1974 Watergate tapes case, when it made its ruling just 16 days after oral argument.
That’s what the Court did in Bush v. Gore, the 2000 presidential election case, when it made its ruling just four days after the case was filed at the Court.
So, we know the Supreme Court can act very quickly. The question is, however, will it act quickly in this case?
When it comes to his legal cases, Trump’s game plan is always the same – “delay, delay, delay.”
We know it. And, the Supreme Court Justices know it, too.
They know Trump will do everything that he can to get this trial delayed past the November election. And they know that if Trump wins in November he will have his Justice Department shut down the case.
As Tom Joscelyn, the principal drafter of the House Jan. 6 Committee’s 814-page report on the Capitol attack has rightly noted, more than 700 rioters have already been found guilty and sentenced for their actions on January 6. Trump, who was the ringleader of the effort to attack the Capitol, must face his day in court.
When voters cast their ballots for President in November, they have a right to know whether Trump engaged in the criminal subversion of our democracy.
If the Supreme Court waits and issues its opinion at the end of their June term, they will be rewarding Trump’s delaying strategy at the enormous expense of our country and our democracy.
There has never been anything in our history like what President Trump did in attempting the equivalent of a presidential coup. Never.
The Supreme Court Justices know exactly what is at stake. And so do the American people.
In the days following the April oral argument we will learn whether the Supreme Court acts honorably, follows the precedents of past historic cases, and moves swiftly in the Trump case.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
