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Donald Trump's lawyers have used prior Supreme Court cases in their push to discredit Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to speed up the former president's appeal in his federal election subversion case.
Trump is entangled in a slew of criminal charges, all to which he has pleaded not guilty. One federal case against Trump, filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., stems from Smith's investigation into the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump's legal team tried to stop the federal election subversion trial, scheduled to begin March 4, by claiming that Trump has presidential immunity. However, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, ruled earlier this month that just because Trump held presidential office at the time does not mean he is now immune from prosecution.
Trump appealed Chutkan's ruling, but Smith has asked for the Supreme Court to hear the appeal, bypassing the routine step in the court system to have a federal appellate court hear the case, in an effort to maintain the March 4 trial date.
On Wednesday, Trump's legal team weighed in on Smith's request, arguing that Smith has given "no compelling reason" as to why the Supreme Court should speed up Trump's appeal process.
The ex-president's lawyers used a prior ruling by the Supreme Court to argue that in order for the high court to review a lower court's decision, there must be prudential standing, which, his legal team claims, the government lacks.
"When 'this Court grant[s] certiorari before judgment,' it 'effectively stand[s] in the shoes of the Court of Appeals.' Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson, 595 U.S. 30, 38 (2021)," Trump's lawyers cited in a filing to the Supreme Court. "A party seeking certiorari before judgment to review a district-court decision, therefore, must have standing to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals."
Trump's lawyers argued that Smith's request appears to be of "partisan motivation," given that if the trial proceeds as scheduled, it would arrive at the peak of campaign season.
The former president's team suggested that Smith made his request "to ensure that President Trump—the leading Republican candidate for President, and the greatest electoral threat to President [Joe] Biden—will face a months-long criminal trial at the height of his presidential campaign," according to the filing.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's lawyers via email and the DOJ via online form for comment Wednesday.
Trump was indicted in August on four federal felony counts in this case, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights, all regarding his activities surrounding the attack on the Capitol.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol while Congress attempted to certify Biden's 2020 election win. The riot subsequently erupted after Trump's "Stop the Steal" speech, in which he baselessly claimed that the election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud.
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About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more