Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday made his pitch to the Supreme Court on why he believes he should be immune to special counsel Jack Smith's indictment alleging he conspired to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump's response was requested by the high court last week after Smith petitioned the justices to settle the immunity dispute, which so far has not gone in Trump's favor. The special counsel jumped over the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit in an effort to have the Supreme Court fast-track the dispute to keep a March 4 criminal trial date on schedule.
The crux of Trump's argument on Wednesday was that Smith is seeking to skip the appellate court and jump straight to the Supreme Court after Trump previously failed to succeed on his immunity claims in the lower district court.
"The Court lacks jurisdiction to grant the petition because the government lacks Article III and prudential standing to appeal from a judgment that is entirely favorable to it. The government seeks direct appellate review of a district-court decision that granted it all the relief it sought and did not rule against it on any issue," according to what Trump's counsel wrote in a 32-page response.
"For the reasons discussed above, even if this Court grants certiorari before judgment, which it should not, the Court should reject the Special Counsel’s proposed briefing schedule, which would require briefing the merits of these issues on a radically compressed timetable," Trump's attorneys added.
In his request to go directly to the Supreme Court for resolution of the matter, Smith invoked the 1974 high court decision in United States v. Nixon, which jumped from district court to the Supreme Court to decide on the privileges granted to the president.
"Precedent supports expeditious action. When the government sought certiorari before judgment in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), a case presenting similarly consequential issues of presidential privilege, the Court granted the petition and resolved the constitutional question expeditiously so that trial could begin as scheduled," the special counsel wrote, adding that the quick decision allowed the trial to begin on schedule.
Smith's request to the high court came after Trump appealed U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's ruling that immunity privileges do not apply to the former president and therefore cannot be used to dismiss his charges.
The Supreme Court could ultimately send the matter back to the D.C. Circuit for further consideration, as that court has already set deadlines to file briefs between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, but it has not set a date for when it will hear arguments.
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Conversely, the justices could agree to consider the case and side with Smith's argument that the Nixon case presents ample clarity that Trump should not be immune to his criminal charges. Trump ultimately hopes his argument will result in the high court tossing out his case, though the more likely upshot for him is that it throws a wrench in the early-March trial timeline.
This is a developing story and will be updated.