OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
10:42 AM – Monday, December 11, 2023
Special Counsel Jack Smith is asking the Supreme Court of the United States to immediately intervene and decide whether former President Donald Trump has presidential immunity regarding his alleged actions to overturn the 2020 election.
“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy,” Smith wrote in the filing. “Whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin.”
Judge Tanya Chutkan initially rejected the Trump team’s claims of immunity, but Trump’s attorneys appealed her decision to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Smith’s filing shows how intent he is on keeping the trial date of March 4, 2024 on schedule.
“This case involves a paradigmatic issue of imperative public importance: the amenability to criminal prosecution of a former President of the United States for conduct undertaken during his presidency,” Smith wrote, arguing SCOTUS should step in. “It requires no extended discussion to confirm that this case— involving charges that respondent sought to thwart the peaceful transfer of power through violations of federal criminal law—is at the apex of public importance.”
The earliest date that the Supreme Court could consider Smith’s ask would be January 5th.
“If appellate review of the decision below were to proceed through the ordinary process in the court of appeals, the pace of review may not result in a final decision for many months,” Smith wrote. “Even if the decision arrives sooner, the timing of such a decision might prevent this Court from hearing and deciding the case this Term.”
Attorney and legal expert Jonathan Turley claimed Smith’s petition to the Supreme Court was based on a desire “to seek to guarantee a trial of Trump (and possible conviction) before the election.”
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