Former President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to further delay his criminal prosecution in Washington, D.C., while it considers whether to review his spurious claim of absolute immunity. Special counsel Jack Smith replied Wednesday, well ahead of his deadline of next week, arguing that there was no reason to grant a stay — but that if the court does accept the case, it should move quickly. With Trump quickly filing a reply Thursday evening, we may know soon what the justices decide to do with his appeal. Whether they agree to review his appeal or not, they should take every step they can to resolve the meritless appeal as soon as possible.
The question of whether the former president and leading Republican candidate in 2024 criminally interfered with the peaceful transition of power is surpassingly important. That is precisely why the justices must promptly deny his petition to review the lower court’s decision. Ensuring that Trump’s federal election subversion case goes to trial this year would let the American people know whether he is a convicted criminal before deciding whether to return him to office.
Every judge who has ever ruled on the issue has rejected Trump’s claim of absolute immunity.
As Smith details in his filing, as a matter of law there is no overriding need for the Supreme Court to intervene. The D.C. Circuit’s tightly reasoned opinion definitively refuted Trump’s meritless claim of absolute criminal immunity. Its unanimous, targeted holding requires no clarification or modification: The circuit court made it clear that its ruling applies only to former presidents, thus heading off hypothetical concerns about a federal criminal prosecution of a sitting president.
Furthermore, every judge who has ever ruled on the issue has rejected Trump’s claim of absolute immunity. Under the court’s own rules, which treat conflicting lower court rulings as the most compelling reason for intervention, that alone is sufficient…
Read the full article here
