As the hours pass this Saturday afternoon Special Counsel Jack Smith has a seriously tough decision to make. DC or Florida? He has prosecutions of Trump in the works in both jurisdictions and as early as last fall it was clear his best chance of getting Trump into federal court as a criminal defendant would be the Jan. 6 case in DC. I’ll set aside my bitter thoughts on how long it took for the DC Circuit to hear and finally rule on District Court judge Chutkan’s denial of Trump’s “I was President so I’m immune from prosecution) motion. But the appellate ruling is as devastating to Trump as the trial court one was and they only gave him until Monday to get SCOTUS involved. By all accounts SCOTUS, whether by denying Cert and more importantly issuing a stay while they consider the case Trump could go on trial in DC by May. ( You can read more about it here )Meanwhile, down in Florida federal District judge Aileen Loose Cannon has just kicked over a hornet’s nest.
Today, Feb. 10 is the deadline Cannon has set for Jack Smith to comply with her order to hand over certain discovery materials to Team Trump. Cannon’s order is, as many legal pundits have stated wrong on the law because she’s applied the wrong legal standard to rule in Trump’s favor on this particular motion. Can Smith appeal to the 11th Circuit, obtain a stay? Well, that’s an interesting question it seems, as it’s not as clear cut as reporting/punditry in the last couple of days suggested. However, if the day passes and Smith either doesn’t apply or appeals to the 11th circuit that hornet’s next I referred to will have a big bunch of them stinging their way all the way into the SCOTUS building by tomorrow.
DC has been and remains (at least as I’m writing this) Smiths best chance to have Trump sitting as a criminal defendant in court before the election. If, as many (including me) believe SCOTUS wants to and will stay out of the whole “Presidential Immunity” nonsense by the end of next week the Jan. 6 case will be back in judge Chutkan’s capable hands and we’ll be looking at a trial by sometimes in May. Plenty of time before the nominating conventions and of course the election.
SCOTUS wants nothing to do with Trump these days. Hell, in the oral arguments on the Colorado Ballot Access appeal they all might as well have screamed in unison “We don’t wanna have to deal with Trump!” As things stand, they can take a day or two to make it “look good” and we’ll get one of those one line notices on the SCOTUS dockets from the clerk stating “The petitioner’s request for a Writ of Certiorari and stay of proceedings is denied.”
However, we are approaching the hour when Smith either has to comply with Cannon’s order down in Florida or file an emergency appeal with the 11th Circuit to stay her ruling. If he doesn’t lives will literally be at risk (at least one formal investigation of a specific threat to one of the people Smith is trying to protect is underway) as will the Florida case itself, and DOJ’s ability to prosecute other cases as it cracks open the door to defense attorneys being given access to information that’s never been part of discovery before.
Here’s the thing: If Smith appeals and the 11th Circuit grants a stay you can bet the farm Trump’s lawyers will have a motion on Cannon’s desk first thing Monday morning making good on their recent promise to file their own “Presidential Immunity” claim. Trump’s DC lawyers I’m sure already have in on hand to include in their own motion to SCOTUS they have to file tomorrow. This is pure Trumpian delay tactics. He is DESPERATE for SCOTUS to give him more time, knowing that even by what we mere mortal lay people are told is expedited review (I’m like Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride with his “I do not think that word means what you think it means” school of thought) it will be a couple of months if not more of delay.
The more time Trump has, the more time he can perhaps find yet another delay he can force and before you know it talk by experts about even a couple of months delay by SCOTUS doing an “expedited” review about a trial this summer go out the window. Not to mention the political implications of Trump literally being on trial in DC during the convention! To anyone who things that the political firestorm won’t factor into things I say reality is calling, answer your damned phone.
The way I see it Smith can either grit his teeth and comply with Cannon and take time to build a better case to the 11th Circuit to force her removal and keep the decks clear for rapid resumption of the DC case, or challenge Cannon and risk the DC case being, practically speaking possibly if not likely ALSO being delayed until after the election.
That’s one helluva choice he’s have to make this afternoon. I don’t know what choice he will make but it’s going to be anything but a quiet rest of the weekend and week ahead.
Phuck the worship of money. You can’t have two masters. So the ‘In God We Trust’ printed on the bills is bullshit and ALWAYS has been. In Smith I Trust…is my new mantra.
3 strikes rule!! Bench Cannon!
Perhaps I just did not read this carefully enough but why either or the other case?
Hoping for SCOTUSto.simply deny the Writ of Certariori, but I am not counting on it. Smith needs to.deny Cannon by turning over those docs because they endanger lives if revealed. And Cannon must recuse herself or get slammed so hard her children and their children and their children will.feel it. She isan insult to the FL judiciary.