Jan. 6: SCOTUS Declines to Hear Trump Immunity Case

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Facts

  • The US Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear arguments about former Pres. Donald Trump's immunity in the federal election interference case, sending the dispute to a federal appeals court instead.1
  • This follows Special Counsel Jack Smith's appeal that SCOTUS fast-track a review of Trump's presidential immunity claim earlier this month — a request he reiterated on Thursday, saying a 'prompt resolution' is needed.2
  • Smith's Thursday comments came in response to a filing from Trump's attorneys the prior day that urged SCOTUS to decline Smith’s expedited ruling request, writing that sticking to the normal review process would allow an appeals court to rule on the matter and provide the high court with more information to consider.3
  • So far, Judge Tanya Chutkan — who's overseeing Trump’s Washington, DC, indictment — has rejected the former president’s request for immunity, a precedent similarly repeated in a federal appeals court in a DC case earlier this month.4
  • Smith has charged Trump — the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — with conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, among other charges related to his alleged attempt to overturn Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.5
  • The trial was set to begin on March 4, though SCOTUS' ruling could see it delayed.6

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Abc news (a), 3Upi, 4Law & crime, 5The independent and 6Abc news (b).

Narratives

  • Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by CNN. Even while defending himself against charges of trying to dismantle democracy, Trump is looking for ways to break the system. Trump’s strategy is clearly to delay this trial until he can possibly return to the White House and crush this case, and the special counsel was well within his powers to ask SCOTUS to expedite a judgment. SCOTUS should have done the right thing and ruled promptly.
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Federalist. Smith should stop hiding behind the notion of protecting democracy, and admit his shady case is political persecution by the Biden administration. In his briefs, Smith never gave a valid reason for expediting this review. But it’s obvious the goal was to derail Trump’s return to the White House by tarnishing his good name — possibly getting a conviction before the 2024 election cycle kicks into high gear.

Predictions