SCOTUS Steps In And Saves Trump With Unprecedented Move!
After the recent U.S. Supreme Court session, former President Donald Trump expressed optimism. His legal team had asked for “presidential immunity” in relation to the accusations brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Speaking to reporters after spending hours in a Manhattan courtroom defending himself against thirty-four felony counts, Trump stated that he believed it was “made clear” that the president “has to have immunity.”
Judge Juan Merchan of New York denied Trump’s request to attend the arguments in Washington, D.C., and ordered the former president to be in his Manhattan courtroom each day of his criminal trial.
Trump is accused of falsifying financial records to conceal hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star, and former Playboy Playmate, Karen McDougal.
“I was forced to be here, and I’m glad I was because it was a very interesting day in a certain way,” Trump told reporters. “The U.S. Supreme Court had a monumental hearing on immunity and the immunity having to do with presidential immunity. And I think it was made clear, I hope it is very clear, that a president has to have immunity.”
Trump reiterated his earlier claim that without immunity, presidents would only have “ceremonial” power.
“That’s not what the founders had in mind,” he said. “We want presidents that can get quite amazing—quite amazing.” He added that the Supreme Court justices “were on their game.”
“So let’s see how that turns out,” he said. “But again, I say presidential immunity is very powerful. Presidential immunity is imperative, or you practically won’t have a country anymore.”
The justices are expected to rule in June. Legal experts have speculated that the justices might remand the case to a lower court for review according to their standards, while also granting Trump partial immunity for actions taken while in office.
During the hearing, Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested that former presidents should have some protection from future legal actions.
“It didn’t matter what the president’s motives were; that’s something courts shouldn’t get engaged in … I am concerned about future uses of criminal law to target political opponents based on accusations about their motives,” the Supreme Court justice said on April 25.
Gorsuch, the first of Trump’s three nominees to the Supreme Court, suggested that future presidents might be allowed to pardon themselves before leaving office if the justices do not uphold the idea of presidential immunity. According to the Epoch Times, he noted that the Court has never ruled on whether a president can issue a self-pardon.
“We’ve never answered whether a president can do that; happily, it’s never been presented to us,” Gorsuch said.
“What would happen if presidents were under fear that their successors would criminally prosecute them for their acts in office?” Gorsuch asked, proposing a hypothetical scenario where former President Barack Obama could be prosecuted for ordering a drone strike that resulted in civilian casualties.
Gorsuch and other conservative justices expressed more concern about the Supreme Court’s overall decision on immunity than about Trump’s specific accusations.
“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” Gorsuch stated.
“Whatever we decide is going to apply to all future presidents,” Justice Samuel Alito added.
Reports indicate that Chief Justice John Roberts was among those suggesting that presidents should not be immune from prosecution under any circumstances.
Fox News anchor Mark Levin advised President Joe Biden to hope that Donald Trump wins his appeal for Supreme Court immunity during a recent episode of “Life, Liberty, and Levin.”
The former president and current Republican contender is appealing to the Supreme Court, claiming that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution for any crimes he may have committed while in office. This appeal has significantly hindered Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump in his DC criminal trial.
Trump is currently facing three additional criminal indictments in separate jurisdictions for various offenses, including mishandling classified material and attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
As the show concluded, Levin warned that since Trump had a “long list” of “crimes” against the country, Biden should be rooting for Trump to win the appeal.
“Joe Biden, you better damn well hope that you lose that Supreme Court decision. You better damn well hope that immunity for your so-called official acts after you leave office protects you when you leave office, because I’m making a long list of the crimes that you’ve committed and the constitutional violations. Whether it’s the border and the deaths and the damage and the slavery that’s taking place there as a result of you,” Levin said.
“Whether it’s your violation of federal law, the Empowerment Act, withholding munitions that were passed by Congress, a clear violation of federal law. Let the dust off the Espionage Act. Oh, yeah. Because we have a report that says that you violated and on multiple grounds, a matter of fact, you sold out your country to a publisher for $8 million, spewing classified information from the government. It’s a long list, Joe. You better damn well hope you lose that immunity case in the Supreme Court,” Levin added.