Former President Donald Trump won a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week when the court denied a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to quickly review Trump’s presidential immunity arguments.
Big victory for the rule of law, the US Constitution, civil rights, and our elections today with the Supreme Court's summary rejection of Biden regime/Jack Smith's plea to enlist the court in its election rigging scheme to ensure, no matter the law, Trump is tried, convicted and…
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) December 22, 2023
Smith demanded that the Supreme Court review Trump’s arguments as soon as possible because he wanted to begin the trial in March 2024, just before the 2024 election season kicks off. As The Blaze previously noted, Trump’s trial date “was already controversial,” as it coincidentally happened to be “in the middle of the primary season” and just “one day before Super Tuesday” — a decision that has prompted “accusations that prosecutors are seeking to damage Trump’s presidential prospects.”
However, the Supreme Court declined Smith’s unusual request to take up the case before an appeals court could make a ruling on the issue. The high court did not include any explanation or dissents in its ruling.
Trump’s legal team has argued in this case that all charges against the GOP presidential frontrunner should be dropped because he was acting in his official capacity as president when he took the actions that Smith is trying to convict him for, and thus he is protected by presidential immunity.
Their argument stems from a legal interpretation that asserts that a president cannot be charged for acts committed while in office unless he is first impeached and convicted through the process set up by the Constitution to deal with allegations against a president. Trump’s attorneys also claim that prosecuting the former president for these allegations violates double jeopardy, as he was acquitted of the same allegations by the Senate in 2021.
This argument was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case despite having presented a clear bias against Trump on numerous occasions. Trump’s attorneys have appealed Chutkan’s ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has scheduled an expedited hearing on the issue for January.
As the Supreme Court has rejected Smith’s demands to bypass the appeals court, it is highly unlikely that the special counsel’s planned March 2024 date for the trial will happen — as it is unclear how long the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will take to issue a ruling, and the ruling may then be appealed to the Supreme Court, taking even more time. Many analysts have predicted that this process will go far beyond March 2024, likely delaying the trial until after the 2024 election.
…That schedule would likely approach or pass the March date. Assuming Smith prevails in every review, the pretrial proceedings still would have to resume after the case is returned to Judge Chutkan. That could easily push any potential trial to within 60 days of the general…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 23, 2023
This is a victory for Trump and his legal team, who appear to be trying to push his various trials past election day.
