Republicans Sound the Trump Alarm to Supreme Court

Former Republican Representatives issued a concern to the Supreme Court on Tuesday regarding Donald Trump as the former president faces ongoing criminal cases.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, awaits an appeals court ruling on whether he has presidential immunity protection in his election interference case in Washington, D.C. The argument, however, is expected to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has led the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, accusing Trump of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that led to the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four counts by the DOJ in relation to the riot, 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.

Trump has pled not guilty and has said that the case against him is politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the former president has also argued presidential immunity would shield him from being tried for these charges, though critics say he was not acting in his official capacity at the time.

On Tuesday, in an open letter published to The Bulwark, a news site on Substack that provides analysis and reporting, 19 former Republican Representatives who served in Congress in previous years sounded the alarm asking the Supreme Court for a speedy trial.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

"Just as Trump is entitled to a fair trial, the American public is entitled to a speedy trial. Perhaps in no other case in American history is the public's interest in the swift and fair administration of criminal justice as great as it is here. The public should have the benefit of the evidence presented during trial—and by Trump in his defense—and Trump should be judged by a jury of his peers. That may not be in the former president's political interests, but it is in the nation's best interest," the open letter stated.

The letter continues to stress the importance of needing to move Trump's election interference case forward, adding that the charges are serious, but "existential for our democracy" as Trump bids for the 2024 presidential nominee.

"The accusations against Trump are grave. A grand jury charged him with conspiring to overturn the election and deprive millions of Americans of the right to have their votes counted. These are serious charges for any person to face. They are existential for our democracy when the defendant is asking voters to re-elect him to the presidency," the open letter added.

The open letter was signed by Steve Bartlett of Texas, Tom Coleman of Missouri, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, David F. Emery of Maine, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, David Jolly of Florida, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Mike Parker of Mississippi, Thomas E. Petri of Wisconsin, Reid J. Ribble of Wisconsin, Scott Rigell of Virginia, Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, David Trott of Michigan, Jim Walsh of New York, Joe Walsh of Illinois and Zachary Wamp of Tennessee.

Newsweek has reached out to Barbara Comstock and Jim Greenwood via email for comment.

This comes after others have taken note of the speed at which the courts are moving in Trump's cases.

While appearing on MSNBC's The Katie Phang Show on Sunday, Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Obama administration, was asked about the speed at which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has moved in ruling on Trump's presidential immunity claim and why we haven't seen more speed from the Supreme Court.

In response, Vance pointed out that despite Trump's strategy of delay with some judges, she is seeing that both the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals are hopeful in terms of moving the process forward.

"So I think this is the key question because Trump's overall strategy is one of delay, get everything past the election, hope that you win and you can resolve everything from the Oval Office in your favor. But what we are seeing now in Washington is very hopeful, to people who aren't lawyers I think the speed at which courts move is mystifying, it's extremely slow. What we've seen in these last couple of weeks has been lightning speed out of both of these courts," Vance said.

Trump's lawyers are scheduled to make oral arguments surrounding his presidential immunity claim before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.