Special Counsel Jack Smith submitted a request to the United States Supreme Court on Monday asking for an emergency ruling to determine whether former President Donald Trump is immune to prosecution. Smith’s request, submitted as part of his election interference case against the former president, is intended to preempt a lower appellate court ruling on Trump’s claims of “presidential immunity,” allowing Smith to prosecute the case before the 2024 election.
Specifically, the Special Counsel is asking the Supreme Court to answer “whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin.”
Smith’s case against Donald Trump alleges that the former president plotted to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election, leading to the violent riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump was impeached and acquitted on these charges soon after, and he pled not guilty in the federal case.
In October, his defense filed a motion claiming that his actions fell within the purview of a sitting president, rendering him immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected the notion that Trump’s time in office gave him “the divine right of kings to evade criminal accountability,” but Trump’s team filed a motion that paused the proceedings pending a review from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Anticipating a lengthy appeals process that would likely reach all the way to the Supreme Court anyway, Smith launched a bold gambit to bypass all lower courts and expedite the process. To accomplish this, the Special Counsel is citing legal precedent established by the prosecution of former President Richard Nixon.
“The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request. This is an extraordinary case,” Smith’s team wrote in the 81-page document filed on Monday. “The Court should grant certiorari and set a briefing schedule that would permit this case to be argued and resolved as promptly as possible.”
Petition-for-Writ-of-Certiorari-in-Special-Counsel-Jack-Smiths-Election-Interference-CaseDownload
“Smith is willing to try for a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court and attempting to bypass the appellate process,” declared a spokesperson for Trump’s defense. “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters.”
The Supreme Court is able to choose which cases it hears, which means Smith’s motion may be rejected outright. However, if the Court rules in Trump’s favor, the former President could be granted immunity, effectively ending the case and establishing a precedent for Trump’s other criminal trials.
If the Court rules against Trump and the case is allowed to proceed as scheduled, the former President will stand trial on March 4, 2024—one day before Super Tuesday, a critical voting day in the Republican primary. Trump has repeatedly attempted to delay the prosecution until after the 2024 election, while Smith has sought to preempt it in what Trump calls “attempted election interference.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is next scheduled to meet on January 5, 2024. It is unclear if the justices will convene early to consider Smith’s emergency request.
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