Donald Trump’s Bold Supreme Court Delay Tactic Sparks Controversy

(CTN News) – One of Donald Trump’s more audacious attempts at postponement thus far came on Wednesday when he petitioned the Supreme Court.

His most recent effort to persuade the law to comply with his political agenda was an impassioned plea with the Supreme Court to avoid deciding whether he is immune from federal prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office.

This action was in line with DonaldTrump’s legal strategy in all his criminal matters up to this point: postponing the proceedings, preferably until after the 2024 election.

It was announced just one day after Donald Trump was barred from being on Colorado’s primary ballot by the state’s supreme court in a stunning decision, which he is also expected to challenge to the US Supreme Court.

That means next year, the US Supreme Court will likely decide if Donald Trump may be imprisoned for crimes done after the 2020 election and if his acts as president can prevent him from running for office again in 2024.

Trump, however, flourishes in such an environment and always manages to turn the tables on his opponents.

He gets his fuel from grudges like a fire gets its oxygen. When asked about the Colorado ruling, former Donald Trump attorney general Bill Barr—opposed to Trump’s 2024 candidacy—told CNN’s Jake Tapper that this would ultimately be a personal grudge that worked to his advantage.

The legal team representing Trump urged the Supreme Court to deny special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to skip a federal appeals court and decide whether Trump is immune from charges of election subversion efforts following his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. The outcome of this decision could determine the future of the former president’s legal status.

Smith reiterated his demand for the Supreme Court to swiftly determine whether Trump enjoys presidential immunity from charges of crimes committed while in office in his Thursday response.

This Court’s swift and final ruling is in the public’s best interest since this dispute needs to be resolved quickly. Smith informed the justices in a recent filing that the charges in this case are extremely serious.

Whether the case kicks off in March 2024, right before Super Tuesday, as Judge Tanya Chutkan had planned, or if it gets pushed closer to or after November’s election depends on how quickly the Supreme Court resumes the case, which has been halted while the immunity question is being decided.

This is hardly Trump’s first foray into the Supreme Court. He publicly voiced his dissatisfaction when the three justices he selected promptly rejected a lawsuit contesting the 2020 election results, and he then requested them to assist him in overturning his defeat.

With only weeks to go until the first ballots are cast in the 2024 primary, the GOP frontrunner, Trump, is seeking assistance from the Supreme Court for his campaign.

Due to the dual-track Trump litigation, the unusual and chaotic position that the court and the country find themselves in is certain to inflame the partisans regardless of the court’s ruling.

The GOP primary, where contenders are fighting for a slim chance to overtake the former president, was once again overshadowed by the 4-3 decision in Colorado, which determined that Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot due to the 14th Amendment and engaged in insurgency.

Every one of Trump’s opponents who dared to try to steal the show was met with unprecedented criminal charges against a former president, as happened after each of the four indictments.

By joining Trump’s supporters in condemning the Colorado verdict, those of Trump’s detractors who had previously used the news to cast doubt on his electability have returned to his side in the fight against the nation’s judicial system.

There should be no role for the courts in determining Trump’s election fate; even former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who has supported the special counsel’s accusations against Donald Trump, has stated as much.

While Biden refrained from directly commenting on Wednesday’s Colorado judgment, he did seize the opportunity to accuse Trump of being involved in an uprising.

Although both camps may prefer to divert attention away from 2020, the president’s remarks served as a timely reminder that the year 2020 will play a significant role in any rematch between Trump and Biden.

Upon his arrival in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Biden told reporters, “I think it’s self-evident” that Trump is an insurrectionist.

The court will decide whether the 14th Amendment applies, Biden stated. However, he unquestionably backed a rebellion. That much is certain. Exactly zero. Exactly zero.

The special counsel’s trial is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2021 if the president loses his case on presidential immunity before the Supreme Court on January 6, 2021.

That’s why, even before a DC federal appeals court reviews the issue, Smith requested the Supreme Court to do so. The federal trial date set for March 4, 2024, is now on hold due to the potential delay caused by waiting for the appellate court to rule on an issue that will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court regardless.

The fact that Donald Trump’s attorneys want to postpone the federal trial and any other imminent criminal charges until after the 2024 election when Trump has the power to pardon himself, has not been hidden.

Former President Trump’s opponents, according to CNN Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas School of Law professor Steve Vladeck, “not unexpectedly” aim to delay the court’s review rather than face the inevitable question of whether he is immune from criminal prosecution.

In their response to Smith’s request, Trump’s legal team evoked every possible emotion in their denial of the special counsel’s wish to expedite the process, implying that Smith attempted to have the court rule “with reckless abandon.”

In a letter to the court, Trump’s legal team urged the justices to “rush to decide the issues with reckless abandon” rather than follow the traditional process that involves at least one court of appeals being considered first.

Lawmakers representing Donald Trump emphasized the need to proceed with prudence rather than rush due to the case’s genesis in a political controversy.

In the meantime, Trump has until January 4 to take the Colorado Supreme Court’s judgment and bring it to the US Supreme Court for review.

Two people familiar with the situation have said that the attorneys for Trump will not be filing an appeal with the Supreme Court this week.

However, Trump’s legal team will bring the matter to the Supreme Court once they decide to appeal. It is unclear when that will occur, before or after the supreme court hears the presidential immunity case.

Whether you like it or not, the Supreme Court will be heavily involved in the 2024 election because of these two issues.

A probable second term in office would give Donald Trump more leeway to do as he pleases, and the court may rule that he is immune from prosecution while in office.

Alternatively, following the lead of the Colorado Supreme Court, the highest court could rule that Donald Trump can be removed from the ballot, suggesting that other states follow suit and possibly deny him the chance to become president.

The court could find a middle ground, which is not out of the question but certainly not out of the question. However, the top court will face severe criticism for any decision, regardless of how minor or procedural.

In addition, Donald Trump’s move on Wednesday demonstrates his intention to exploit the high court in the same way he has abused the judicial system for decades in Washington and New York, evading and confusing the boundaries between his roles as president and real estate developer.