There is no reason for the Supreme Court to hear Trump’s immunity claim, but four probably conservative justices decided to set fire to the court’s remaining credibility by agreeing to hear the case.
Judge Luttig responded to the decision of the Supreme Court to hear the case by saying:
Look, this is a momentous decision, just to hear this case. There was no reason in this world for the Supreme Court to take this case. The three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia had written a masterful opinion, denying that the president’s claims of absolute immunity under the constitution and the laws of the United States, there’s never been an argument that a former president is immune from prosecution for crimes that he committed while in office.
On a more practical level, of course, the court — the Supreme Court is capable of deciding this very quickly, in time that the former president could be tried, before the election. But today’s decision makes that that much more unlikely.
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Video:
Judge Luttig on #DeadlineWH says there is no reason for #SCOTUS to take the Trump immunity claim, ” Look, this is a momentous decision, just to hear this case. There was no reason in this world for the Supreme Court to take this case.” pic.twitter.com/daOG14pxxG
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 28, 2024
Andrew Weissmann tweeted that this decision is de facto immunity for Trump:
The SCOTUS stays DC case and expedites hearing the Trump appeal on immunity. But every day of delay operates as granting Trump de facto immunity. https://t.co/y3sAI8xJ7p
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) February 28, 2024
There is no unsettled legal question in this case. Every single court at every level has ruled against Trump’s claim of absolute immunity every single time his lawyers have made that argument. The only good news is that the Supreme Court will hear the case on April 22nd. The bad news is that there is no guarantee that they will deliver a swift ruling.
Even taking this case, when there is no open legal question is an act of corruption.
The conservative majority on the Supreme Court have once again demonstrated that they are lawless and this is why the court needs oversight and reform.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
