In an admittedly "extraordinary" move, Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday leapfrogged the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and urged the U.S. Supreme Court to swiftly rule on whether or not former President Donald Trump is still protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.
In response, the Trump campaign lambasted the "deranged" Smith for his unusual "Hail Mary" attempt at Supreme Court intervention that is intended to keep his prosecution of the former president on track for trial before the 2024 election, according to The Hill.
At issue here is Trump's claim that he remains immune from prosecution for actions taken relating to his presidency while Smith -- and D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan -- have insisted that Trump's immunity ended at the same time as his presidency in January 2021.
In former President Trump's federal 2020 election interference case, Trump's attorneys previously filed a motion to dismiss the charges on the argument that he still enjoyed presidential immunity, but Judge Chutkan rejected that motion and asserted that Trump's prior presidential immunity did not equate to a "lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass."
Naturally, Trump's attorneys appealed that decision to the next step in the judicial process, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and asked for the entire case to be placed on hold until a decision on that appeal was rendered by the appeals court -- a move that would almost certainly delay the scheduled March 2024 trial.
In a shocking and overtly partisan move designed to keep the original trial timeline on track, Special Counsel Smith sidestepped the D.C. Circuit Court and filed an emergency petition directly with the Supreme Court on Monday that asked for expedited consideration and a swift ruling on the question of Trump's asserted immunity.
In response to what Special Counsel Smith did, an unnamed spokesperson for the Trump campaign said in a statement, "Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, is so obsessed with interfering in the 2024 Presidential Election, with the goal of preventing President Trump from retaking the Oval Office, as the President is poised to do, that Smith is willing to try for a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court and attempting to bypass the Appellate Process."
"'Deranged' may need to be reminded that the Supreme Court has not been kind to him, including by handing down a rare unanimous rebuke when the Court overturned him 8-0 in the McDonnell case," the statement continued. "As President Trump has said over and over again, this prosecution is completely politically motivated. It is an unprecedented attack against Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent -- Banana Republic style!"
"There is absolutely no reason to rush this Witch Hunt to trial, except to injure President Trump and his 150 million, at least, supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics," the spokesperson added.
According to SCOTUSblog, Special Counsel Smith acknowledged in his petition that he was making "an extraordinary request" in what he deemed to be "an extraordinary case," and asserted that it was incumbent upon the Supreme Court to allow him to sidestep the normal appellate process with his demand for a swift final decision on the topic of former President Trump's presidential immunity.
Smith urged the high court to not wait for the appeals court to address the matter, as normal proceedings would entail, but rather to expedite the case, receive briefs and hear arguments within a matter of weeks, and issue a final opinion as soon as possible so that the initial March 2024 trial start date could be adhered to.
For what it is worth, the outlet reported that Smith's unorthodox move succeeded, at least in that the Supreme Court did agree Monday night to take up and fast-track the issue.
As such, the justices gave Trump's attorneys until December 20 to file a response to Smith's petition, though it is unclear at this point whether or when any additional briefs may be due or when oral arguments will be held, much less when a final decision may be issued.
Furthermore, there is by no means any guarantee that the Supreme Court will rule in Smith's favor, or even issue a final ruling at all at this point, as it is quite conceivable that the court's majority could ultimately decide that the matter of Trump's claimed immunity must first be fully addressed by the circuit court under the normal proceedings of litigation, which as noted could take some time and force a delay of the scheduled trial start date.
