Jack Smith is on a mission to get a conviction against Donald Trump before the 2024 election.
But his witch hunt is facing one major obstacle.
And now Jack Smith is sweating bullets over this curveball Clarence Thomas is preparing to send his way.
Presidential immunity case underway at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case over former President Donald Trump’s claim that Presidential immunity shields him from criminal prosecution in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s bogus January 6 witch hunt.
Trump’s legal team is arguing that American Presidents, including Trump and President Joe Biden, have “absolute immunity” from criminal actions they may commit while in office.
A Three-Judge panel with the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals shut down the former President’s immunity claim in February.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the panel wrote. “Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary authority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct.”
A victory for Trump at the Supreme Court would slam the door shut on Smith’s January 6 witch hunt.
But even if the Court doesn’t give Trump a clear victory on immunity, they could still upend Smith’s efforts.
Supreme Court could throw a monkey wrench in Jack Smith’s case
During an appearance on Fox News, George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley explained that while the Supreme Court would likely reject Trump’s claim of “absolute immunity,” it could still derail Smith’s case by taking a more “nuanced” position on the issue, thereby sending it back down for a lower Court to ultimately sort out.
“They may be as disturbed by the sweeping character of the lower court decision as they are of the sweeping arguments of immunity,” Turley said. “This is an incrementalist court, and I think they’re gonna recognize that a President does need some protection.”
Some legal observers believe the Supreme Court could create a test to determine whether an action taken by a President is an official or an unofficial act and leave it up to the lower Court to ultimately determine how Trump’s case stacks up.
And that would create a major problem for Smith.
“But keep in mind, if this court comes up with a more nuanced approach, it would still likely have to send this back,” Turley continued. “If it does that, it throws a real wrench into the works for Special Counsel Jack Smith. It would seem almost impossible at that point for him to have a trial before the election and if Trump is reelected, Jack Smith may never see a jury in either of these cases.”
Obama-appointed District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has the January 6 case on pause while Trump’s Presidential immunity appeal plays out.
The Supreme Court sending the claim back to a lower court with instructions would be a fatal blow to Smith’s efforts to get the case to trial before the election.
Democrats were counting on Jack Smith to score a conviction in a kangaroo court in Washington, D.C., to change the trajectory of the 2024 election.
Now, their scheme could potentially be thwarted by the Supreme Court.
