Jack Smith overstepped the appellate court and went straight to the US Supreme Court on Monday to rule on Donald Trump’s claim that he was immune from prosecution as former president.
Trump’s request comes from an appeal on a ruling by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who rejected his arguments that he was immune from criminal prosecution.
The trial over whether Trump tried to “overturn” the 2020 election is set to begin on March 4.
Trump’s appeal could delay the process and push back the trial date.
“The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request. This is an extraordinary case,” Smith’s team wrote in the filing.
“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office.”
“A cornerstone of our constitutional order is that no person is above the law,” Smith’s office continued. “The force of that principle is at its zenith where, as here, a grand jury has accused a former President of committing federal crimes to subvert the peaceful transfer of power to his lawfully elected successor. Nothing could be more vital to our democracy than that a President who abuses the electoral system to remain in office is held accountable for criminal conduct.”
Trump’s spokesperson issued a statement excoriating “deranged” Smith for interfering in the 2024 election by bringing the “politically motivated” 2020 trial against him.
“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,” Trump said.
“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…” pic.twitter.com/hTkzKFZIPU
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) December 11, 2023
“As President Trump has said over and over again, this prosecution is simply politically motivated. There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics.”
George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley likewise questioned Smith’s legal argument asking for a Supreme Court ruling without first going through the appellate court.
“Special Counsel Jack Smith is now seeking to leapfrog the appellate court and ask for a ruling from the Supreme Court on Trump’s immunity claims,” Turley observed. “The only reason for this petition is to seek to guarantee a trial of Trump (and possible conviction) before the election.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith is now seeking to leapfrog the appellate court and ask for a ruling from the Supreme Court on Trump's immunity claims. The only reason for this petition is to seek to guarantee a trial of Trump (and possible conviction) before the election…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 11, 2023
“This is a novel legal argument that the Court would ordinarily prefer to hear the views from the appellate judges,” he added.
…The Supreme Court may not view a trial of Trump during the campaign to be as motivating or urgent as does Smith. This is a novel legal argument that the Court would ordinarily prefer to hear the views from the appellate judges.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 11, 2023
Journalist Julie Kelly believes Smith turned to the Supreme Court as a scapegoat for his efforts to hold Trump’s trial the day before Super Tuesday.
“Jack Smith knows the March 4 trial date that he pushed for is not tenable,” she wrote on X.
Jack Smith knows the March 4 trial date that he pushed for is not tenable. My guess now is he wants to blame SCOTUS for forcing a trial delay if they refuse to grant his rare cert petition to bypass appellate court on Chutkan’s order denying Trump’s immunity argument.
— Julie Kelly
(@julie_kelly2) December 11, 2023
“My guess now is he wants to blame SCOTUS for forcing a trial delay if they refuse to grant his rare cert petition to bypass appellate court on Chutkan’s order denying Trump’s immunity argument.”
On Sunday, Smith asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to expedite Trump’s trial in light of “strong” public interest.
“In light of the public’s strong interest in a prompt trial, the Government will seek to ensure that the trial proceeds as scheduled,” Smith’s prosecutors wrote in a 3-page court filing on Sunday.
Read Smith’s legal filing:
