NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump walks offstage after his remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
This week on Trump’s Trials, host Scott Detrow and Domenico Montanaro are joined by constitutional expert Kim Wehle.
This week the Supreme Court announced they will consider former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution. That decision has left the federal election interference case in limbo, complicating the chances that the case will go to trial before the November election.
Kim’s takeaway:
I see two reasons why the Supreme Court may have felt the need to weigh in on immunity. The first, there is no precedent for presidential immunity and criminal lability. The court might want the final word establishing the boundaries of that. The second, and not greatest reason may be “the conservatives on the court are slow walking this.” In recent history we’ve seen the court move much faster on questions that have big ramifications. The fact that they’re dragging this out is a “travesty” and its going to hurt the court’s reputation.
Similarly in the classified documents case, we’re seeing things move slowly. Again, I think this is happening for two reasons. First, the case involves a lot of classified documents which means certain procedures have to take place to ensure classified information isn’t revealed at trail. The second, is Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, is slow walking the case for the benefit of Trump.
Domenico’s takeaway:
Americans want to see a verdict in the federal election interference case before the election. A CNN poll found 64% of people think its essential or they prefer to have a verdict before the general election. So the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the immunity question may deprive Americans of having that information.
Best case scenario for getting a verdict before the election would be the Supreme Court releases its opinion on immunity three weeks after they hear opening arguments. That would allow the trial to start in late September. Depending on the length of the trial, 8 or 12 weeks, the jury could be handed the case as soon as October 25th. That’s just 11 days before the November election. So it could be really close or it could not happen at all.
Source: npr
