Special Counsel Jack Smith Asks Supreme Court to Weigh In on Trump’s Claim of Presidential Immunity from Criminal ProsecutionLegal Insurrection by James Nault 12/13/2023
“Given the weighty and consequential character of the constitutional questions at stake, only this Court can provide the definitive and final resolution”On December 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed a D.C. trial court’s denial of Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.
Based on that affirmance, federal judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the criminal trial against Trump, denied Trump’s motion to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case, as Professor Jacobson reported: DC Court Denies Trump’s Motion To Dismiss DOJ Criminal Case Based on Claimed ‘Absolute’ Presidential Immunity.
From the Opinion denying Trump’s motion to dismiss:
The United States has charged former President Donald J. Trump with four counts of criminal conduct that he allegedly committed during the waning days of his Presidency. See Indictment, ECF No. 1. He has moved to dismiss the charges against him based on Presidential immunity, ECF No. 74 (“Immunity Motion”), and on constitutional grounds, ECF No. 113 (“Constitutional Motion”).1 For the reasons set forth below, the court will DENY both motions….
Defendant contends that the Constitution grants him “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the ‘outer perimeter’ of his official responsibility” while he served as President of the United States, so long as he was not both impeached and convicted for those actions. Immunity Motion at 8, 11–13 (formatting modified). The Constitution’s text, structure, and history do not support that contention. No court—or any other branch of government—has ever accepted it. And this court will not so hold. Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong “get-out-of-jail-free” pass. Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office….
For the foregoing reasons, the court will DENY Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on Presidential Immunity…and Motion to Dismiss the Indictment Based on Constitutional Grounds.
On December 7, former President Trump filed a Notice of Appeal of Judge Chutkan’s denial of his motion to dismiss, and that appeal was docketed in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
But now, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has filed a special “petition for a writ for certiorari before judgment” with the United States Supreme Court, which has docketed the petition and ordered former President Trump to respond by Wednesday, December 20.
This petition asks the Supreme Court to weigh in on Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution and to weigh in expeditiously.
“Given the weighty and consequential character of the constitutional questions at stake, only this Court can provide the definitive and final resolution,” Smith wrote. In August, a federal grand jury in Washington indicted Trump on four counts over his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat, including conspiracy to prevent citizens’ votes from being counted.
Smith asked the court to give Trump one week to respond to his motion, a schedule that would allow the justices to decide before year’s end whether to take up the question.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/12/special-counsel-jack-smith-asks-supreme-court-to-weigh-in-on-trumps-claim-of-presidential-immunity-from-criminal-prosecution/
