Special for Law and Crime News
July 8, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity is already having an impact on the pending criminal cases
against Donald Trump. The former president’s lawyers are trying to apply the
ruling in Trump v. United States to the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
In a 10-page motion, lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Aileen M.
Cannon to allow them to file additional briefings on immunity and to freeze
nearly all pretrial activity until she resolves the issue.
“Resolution of these threshold questions is necessary to
minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the presidency arising
from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution,” Trump’s lawyers
wrote in the July 5 filing.
The second look proposed by Trump’s legal team was made
possible by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. The high court found “at
least a presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for a President’s acts
within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility.” The Court ruled that the former president has absolute immunity
with regard to his discussions with the Department of Justice about leveraging
power to have states replace their legitimate electors and investigating sham
allegations of election fraud.
The court found that the president is presumptively immune
for allegedly “attempt[ing] to pressure the Vice President to take particular
acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding.”
What’s more, the majority of the justices found that Trump’s
communication by tweet and public address on Jan. 6 may be protected.
“The president possesses ‘extraordinary power to speak to
his fellow citizens and on their behalf,” the decision said. “[T]he
President’s] communications are likely to fall comfortably with the outer
perimeter of his official responsibilities.”
Trump’s lawyers will likely seek to toss all of the federal
charges for subversion of the 2020 election. The Supreme Court has remanded the
case to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations
in Smith’s indictment would be barred under the decision,
and the justices said that additional briefing will be needed for the trial
court to do so.
The portion of Smith’s prosecution dealing with scheming
with the Department of Justice to pressure Georgia to investigate the election is dead in the
water. Trump’s team will use the court’s opinion to fight evidence in the case
still standing after Chutkan completes her analysis — like meetings Trump had
with his top advisers and Vice President Mike Pence.
Some portion of the fake electors case might survive the
court’s scrutiny and also the classified documents case which occurred after
Trump left the White House.
Smith’s prosecutions have taken a blow, but it’s certainly
not a knockout. However, Trump’s strategy from the beginning in dealing with
the various criminal charges was delay. To that end he has been successful.
Smith’s prosecutions will not be tried before Election Day, and if Trump
ultimately wins in November these cases will go away faster than you can say
“President Trump.”
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. and the former District Attorney of Lawrence County,
Pennsylvania, His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by McFarland
Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and
follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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