It only takes five Republicans in Robes to declare we have a king. One to rule them all. One above the law. It only takes five. The founders must be crying out loud.


In the filing, Trump’s lawyers say the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling last week that he is not entitled to immunity is “a stunning breach of precedent and historical norms.”


Trump wants the Supreme Court to issue a “stay” of the appeals court’s ruling — an action that would keep the proceedings in the trial court frozen. Those proceedings have been delayed for two months while Trump has litigated the immunity issue, and the originally scheduled trial date of March 4 has already been postponed.

If the justices quickly deny Trump’s stay request, the case would be sent back to the trial court, and the former president could stand trial on the election-focused federal charges as early as this spring.

If, on the other hand, the justices grant a stay, it would likely lead to months of delay for any trial in the case, almost guaranteeing a conflict with the Republican National Convention in July or the height of the presidential general election season in the late summer or fall.

It takes the support of five justices to grant a stay.

Special counsel Jack Smith has already pleaded with the Supreme Court to treat the case with urgency, asking the justices in December to take up the immunity question on an expedited basis even before the appeals court reviewed it. The justices denied him, at the time, without any public explanation or dissent.

Trump’s new filing at the Supreme Court also asks for a step that could produce additional delay. He requests that the justices grant a stay and hold off on further action on the immunity issue until the D.C. Circuit decides whether to reconsider the immunity claim in front of that court’s full 11-judge bench. Such “en banc” rehearings are rare, but formal action on Trump’s request for one could take weeks, particularly if any members of the appeals court wish to file an opinion or opinions disagreeing with their colleagues.

“Allowing President Trump to pursue en banc review in the D.C. Circuit will provide an opportunity for … thoughtful consideration in the lower court before this Court addresses the novel, complex, and momentous issues at stake in this appeal,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

Trump’s campaign quickly announced the filing, saying the Supreme Court’s action is essential to ensure that a president’s political opponents can’t “use the threat of future prosecution as a weapon, effectively blackmailing and extorting him to influence his most sensitive and important decisions.”

Courtesy Politico

"Justice delayed, is justice denied", William Ewart Gladstone