Stephen Colbert Rips The Supreme Court For Trump Immunity Delay

The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert said that the Supreme Court has caused 19 weeks of delays in Trump’s 1/6 federal trial.

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Colbert said:

Here’s the deal. Back on, what, December 11th? On December 11th, Jack Smith begged the Supreme Court to rule on this issue in a timely manner, because this case is critical to our democracy. The justices replied “We don’t feel like it,” sending the issue down to an appeals court. That court ruled against Trump vigorously and unanimously. Trump appealed, and for 16 days,SCOTUS didn’t say jack, until yesterday. But even then, it was merely to schedule arguments for the week of April 22nd and say proceedings in the trial court would remain frozen. That makes it a total of 19 weeks of delays! These proceedings have been frozen for so long, they legally count as children in Alabama! 

This is not a tough call. [Cheering] Wow. Wow. This is not a tough call. The appeals court ruled 3-0 against Trump’s claim that presidents have total immunity from prosecution, rejecting his lawyer’s claim that the former president could not have been prosecuted even if he ordered “Seal team 6 to assassinate a political rival,” unless Trump were also impeached and convicted by the senate. Kind of weird that SCOTUS feels the need to consider whether or not laws exist. A quick reminder. Be careful how you rule, because seal team 6 currently works for Joe Biden. And remember the old saying. The Chinese proverb: And revenge is a dish best served “Old.”

And it gets worse. Because the oral arguments are in April, but court watchers don’t expect a decision until June, and the trial judge has promised the defense 88 days after that to prepare, meaning the trial could now be delayed until late September or October, plunging the proceedings into the heart of the election. That is terrible news for democracy but fantastic news for television. All of the plotlines will come together at once for the thrilling conclusion of “America.” You’ve got the trial of the century alongside the most important election of your lifetime, followed by the season 2 premier of “Tracker.” Tracker: He’ll find your keys. [Applause] Turns out they were in yesterday’s pants. Now, I wonder if the justices, I really do sincerely wonder if the justices, specifically John Roberts, realize just how damaging to the court’s legacy their stalling over this urgent threat to our democracy is. And that legacy doesn’t have far to fall.

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Even as some experts try to explain it, the delay is ridiculous, as Colbert pointed out, the Court could have accepted Jack Smith’s original petition for a expediated ruling months ago, because it is a matter vital to the national interest to have this case decided.

Trump is going to lose.

Even Trump’s own lawyers believe that he will lose, but the point isn’t to win.

The point is to delay the trial until after the election, so that if Trump wins, he can fire Jack Smith and end the investigation, and the Supreme Court is giving Trump exactly what he wanted.

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Jason Easley

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.

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