Current Events > USSC takes up Trump immunity case and refuses to let case proceed

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https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/28/supreme-court-trump-immunity-00143985

Donald Trumps federal trial for seeking to subvert the 2020 election is likely to remain on hold for several more months while the Supreme Court takes up his argument that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president.

In a one-page order Wednesday, the court set an expedited schedule to hear the immunity issue, with oral arguments to be set during the week of April 22. In the meantime, proceedings in the trial court will remain frozen.

There was no noted dissent or other explanation of the high courts action.

If the court rules on the matter quickly after the arguments and rejects Trumps immunity claim, it may permit a trial on the election-related charges to occur later this summer or fall.

But the courts decision to keep the pretrial proceedings frozen is a blow to special counsel Jack Smiths effort to bring Trump to trial this year. Smith has charged Trump with four felonies stemming from his bid to subvert the 2020 presidential election.

Trump claims that, as a former president, he enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for acts taken while in office. Lower courts have rejected that claim, but proceedings in the trial court have been paused for more than two months while Trump has litigated the novel immunity question.

In Wednesdays order, the Supreme Court granted Trumps emergency request to maintain that pause while the justices hear Trumps immunity appeal.

If they ultimately rule that Trump has immunity, the charges will be thrown out. If they deny the immunity bid by the end of their term in June, it may still be possible for the trial judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, to schedule a trial to begin in late summer or fall.
The timing of the justices eventual ruling could be critical since Chutkan has vowed to give Trump roughly three additional months to prepare for trial if the case is returned to her courtroom.

That hypothetical schedule would guarantee that much of Trumps general election calendar is consumed by his mandatory presence in the courtroom, perhaps overlapping with the Republican National Convention or even Election Day itself.

The decision by the justices also places extra significance on the impending decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon regarding the schedule of Trumps other federal criminal trial for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Cannon is expected to reconfigure the timeline of that trial, currently set for May 20, after a day-long hearing on Friday.

Chutkan had originally intended to begin the election-subversion trial on March 4, but she nixed that start date due to the delays caused by Trumps immunity claim. The trial, if it happens, is expected to last several months.

Its the second case this term that the justices have agreed to take on an emergency basis at Trumps request.

Earlier this month, they heard arguments on Trumps effort to overturn a Colorado Supreme Court decision that he is disqualified from the ballot there as an insurrectionist due to his role in fomenting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The justices seemed skeptical of the Colorado courts decision but have yet to issue a ruling on the question.

In addition to his two federal criminal cases, Trump is facing state criminal charges in New York and Georgia.

Trump is set to go on trial March 25 in the New York case, over claims Trump falsified business records to cover up payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to women claiming sexual encounters with him.

No trial date has been set in the Georgia case, where Trump is one of 15 defendants charged in a racketeering conspiracy to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all the cases.

So these sacks of shit had it for 3 weeks just sitting around and says they're not going to debate it until 2 months from now, and who knows how long they'll take to deliberate as we still don't have their ruling on Colorado's case even though we already know to expect a likely 9-0. Them taking the case is also an indicator that they want to agree with some and disagree with other parts of the argument, when it should be wholly dismissed. And they're not allowing the case to proceed until their ruling. Jack Smith had already sent the prosecutor's arguments to the Judges weeks ago in the idea of saving time on the issue since they'd already know where they want to fall, and they took that suggestion and thought "nah, how long can we stretch this out".

Ridiculous that they'd do blatantly help Trump run out the clock as a trial date would likely be too close to November and the DOJ will most likely not want to have a trial so close to the election.

Fucking sacks of shit.

Corrupt Court

utter horse shit

Wait, so does he have immunity or not while it's not preceeding?

Bat178 posted...

Wait, so does he have immunity or not while it's not preceeding?

No, their ruling is on the question of immunity so he can't claim to have that unless they say he does.

They have effectively stopped the Jan 6th case until they say it's allowed to resume.

There's nothing that terrifies me more than on election night we have another Bush vs Gore scenario and the supreme court moves lighting quick to hand the victory over to Trump just like back then because it's all about that money and power.

tremain07 posted...

There's nothing that terrifies me more than on election night we have another Bush vs Gore scenario and the supreme court moves lighting quick to hand the victory over to Trump just like back then because it's all about that money and power.

I actually heard a former career federal prosecutor who makes frequent media appearances (Glenn Kirschner is his name) regarding the law actually bring up how fast they handed the election to Bush back in 2000 and shows that they intentionally want to drag this out as long as they can for Trump, if it was something they actually wanted to get done quickly then it would be.

Kradek posted...

I actually heard a former career federal prosecutor who makes frequent media appearances (Glenn Kirschner is his name) regarding the law actually bring up how fast they handed the election to Bush back in 2000 and shows that they intentionally want to drag this out as long as they can for Trump, if it was something they actually wanted to get done quickly then it would be.

It should have already been done. The supreme court is a defunct system at this point. They are morally bankrupt

I love Glenn Kirschner, I watch him and Brian's legal breakdown every time a video pops up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_0kezI1pI

Love how pissed off he is about this because he should be, The supreme court just threw a giant middle finger by protecting Trump this way

solosnake posted...

It should have already been done. The supreme court is a defunct system at this point. They are morally bankrupt

Yep. These are the most important cases this court will ever have to determine and they are treating it like the most flippant ordeal ever. I don't even know if the liberal judges are protesting the stall tactics, because I don't ever see any dissent from news articles and I imagine they're at least allowed to air their frustration.

I mean, they can do anything they want, actually, there's literally accountability or check on their power.

tremain07 posted...

I love Glenn Kirschner, I watch him and Brian's legal breakdown every time a video pops up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_0kezI1pI

Love how pissed off he is about this because he should be, The supreme court just threw a giant middle finger by protecting Trump this way

Nice, I just heard him on with Dean Obeidallah and he was livid to say the least.

Yep, I dig his fire and passion.

Kradek posted...

Yep. These are the most important cases this court will ever have to determine and they are treating it like the most flippant ordeal ever. I don't even know if the liberal judges are protesting the stall tactics, because I don't ever see any dissent from news articles and I imagine they're at least allowed to air their frustration.

I mean, they can do anything they want, actually, there's literally accountability or check on their power.

Not to mention that Trump literally put a third of them there. That should be a conflict of interest on a case so important.

solosnake posted...

It should have already been done.

Yep. Late last year, Smith asked them to fast track this ruling since the entire world knew they'd have to weigh in on it eventually, and they said no. Two months later and they're ready to hear the case...four months from now, at a point on the calendar that all but guarantees the trial won't happen before the election.

solosnake posted...

Not to mention that Trump literally put a third of them there. That should be a conflict of interest on a case so important.

It is, but also in part due to the fact that Thomas's wife was literally a part of the insurrection and he should be forbidden from dealing with any case that is January 6th related.

But of course there's nobody to actually hold them to account for anything, so they get to just be scumbags until they feel like it's going too far.

Kradek posted...

But of course there's nobody to actually hold them to account for anything, so they get to just be scumbags until they feel like it's going too far.

Oh there's a way to hold them accountable baked right into the constitution tho.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Which is strange because if that happens, those 9 lose any power they have.

Unknown5uspect posted...

Oh there's a way to hold them accountable baked right into the constitution tho.

No one to enforce it, they certainly aren't going to enforce it against themselves.

I feel like at this point, we should just ignore the Supreme Court. They are completely illegitimate.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

I feel like at this point, we should just ignore the Supreme Court. They are completely illegitimate.

This. It's nearly always possible to predict what they will do by assuming maximum partisan hackitude from the 6 Republicans on the bench. Pitiful.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

I feel like at this point, we should just ignore the Supreme Court. They are completely illegitimate.

Biden should indicate he will do just that on the basis of presidential immunity.

Takuya_Lee posted...

Which is strange because if that happens, those 9 lose any power they have.

The flaw in the system. The founders assumed people in each branch would act on own self interests, each grabbing more power for themselves with the other 2 as a check. Giving up your own personal power for the betterment of the political party was not something they accounted for.

Kradek posted...

No one to enforce it, they certainly aren't going to enforce it against themselves.

That's not what he meant.

What a fucking farce.

marthsheretoo posted...

That's not what he meant.

Oh. Ohhhhhhhhh.

Right, well, that is what certain people tell us that right exists for, so...

What is there endgame? They do realize that if they give the President immunity, Biden could.

I guess they just expect Democrats to be above it and not abuse it. Biden might, the next Democrat won't be.

If they give immunity and Trump is in office, they basically have to rule 100% with him, or he'll have them killed. It's power, but not really.

The idea that if the President kills a perceived enemy, and the Congress would remove him is ludicrous on it's face. If the President kills a perceived enemy, he'll kill any member of Congress not 100%.

It'll be just like what Saddam Hussein did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLUktJbp2Ug

Unknown5uspect posted...

Oh there's a way to hold them accountable baked right into the constitution tho.

Yeah, but we're too cowardly to use it. Do you honestly think if Trump won the election, legitimately or illegitimately, that people would rise up to put him out of our misery? I wish I could believe they would, but frankly if all the rampant anti-democratic laws in red states haven't gotten people to rise up, I doubt this would.

Takuya_Lee posted...

Which is strange because if that happens, those 9 lose any power they have.

You're assuming the end goal for them is the government functioning as it is. It's not, it's theocratic control of the government by any means necessary. They just want to break the system hard enough that once their ideal theocracy is entrenched they can sit back and do nothing because they've served their purpose for their magical sky daddy.
Alito gets right-wing Christian rule just like he always wanted, and as a cis-het white male he's got plenty of power already.
Kavanaugh is in much the same boat, with the added bonus of his blatant corruption never coming up again.
Thomas would shoot his own foot if it meant he got to spite the libs, that's all he cares about.
Gorsuch probably doesn't give a shit either way, he just knows which side will make his life easier.
Barrett gets to live with the comfort of knowing she's returned women to what she views as their rightful place: making babies and serving men. Phyllis Shlafly would be proud of her.
And last of all is the utter coward Roberts. He never has to be faced with another tough political choice ever again, and gets to continue to lie to himself about how he preserved his legacy and the integrity of the SC.

So yeah, I'd say they're just fine becoming a figurehead court.

Biden should have Alito, Thomas, and the illegitimately appointed Trump judges arrested. Can't participate in Supreme Court rulings from inside a jail cell, after all.