Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s appeal of his claim for blanket immunity in the federal Jan. 6 election interference case.
The top prosecutor wasted little time in responding to Trump’s plea for the nation’s top court to hear his effort to overturn a unanimous appeals court panel’s ruling that he cannot avoid facing prosecution for alleged criminal acts while serving in the White House.
Smith asked the justices to either uphold the appeals court ruling or alternately dramatically expedite consideration of the explosive issue so Trump can be tried before the November presidential election.
“The charged crimes strike at the heart of our democracy,” Smith’s team said in the 40-page filing. “A president’s alleged criminal scheme to overturn an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power to his successor should be the last place to recognize a novel form of absolute immunity from federal criminal law.”
There was no immediate response from Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles matters related to appeals from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If the justices refuse to hear Trump’s appeal, the case would swiftly return to District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan for trial. She had set a March 4 trial date but suggested she will delay that to give Trump more time to prepare.
The Wednesday night filing came just over 48 hours after Trump beat a Monday deadline to ask the Supremes to hear his appeal.
The flurry of activity in the federal election interference case came as Trump sought to oust Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia state racketeering case that also accuses the former president of effectively trying to steal the 2020 election from President Biden.
Trump and several of his co-defendants say Willis should be disqualified over her alleged romantic affair with Nathan Wade, who is acting as the main day-to-day prosecutor in the explosive case.
The defense says Willis and Wade played fast and loose with the taxpayer funds by mixing business and pleasure.
Willis, who may have to testify under oath in the hearing, says her personal life has nothing to do with her effort to hold Trump accountable for alleged crimes. That case could go to trial in the summer although no date has been set.
Trump also appeared in person in a Manhattan court where Judge Juan Merchan set a March 25 trial for the former president on charges tied to hush-money payments made to former porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to his victory in the 2016 election.
He derides all the four criminal cases and other civil trials as a partisan witch hunt aimed at derailing his bid to return to the White House.
Source link