On Thursday, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Donald Trump's case regarding presidential immunity starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The court's decision will decide the fate of Trump's trials in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia.
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Trump won’t be in attendance, as Judge Juan Merchan, the Biden-donor judge in New York City presiding over the case involving Trump’s non-disclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels, refused to allow him to go.
While the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity isn’t expected until late June, Thursday is Trump’s legal team’s moment to convince the court of its argument that allowing the charges against him to proceed would endanger the independence of the presidency itself. Trump has maintained that if a president faces criminal prosecution after leaving office for official acts taken while in office, it would hinder his ability to function effectively and compromise the vital independence of the presidency.
"Criminal prosecution, with its greater stigma and more severe penalties, imposes a far greater ‘personal vulnerability’ on the President than any civil penalty," Trump’s lawyers wrote when requesting the Supreme Court review the issue of presidential immunity. "The threat of future criminal prosecution by a politically opposed Administration will overshadow every future President’s official acts – especially the most politically controversial decisions."
Trump’s request states that the president's "political opponents will seek to influence and control his or her decisions via effective extortion or blackmail with the threat, explicit or implicit, of indictment by a future, hostile Administration, for acts that do not warrant any such prosecution."
Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in August.
"Without presidential immunity, it would be impossible for a president to properly function, putting the United States of America in great and everlasting danger!" Trump posted on his Truth Social last week, in all capital letters. "If they take away my presidential immunity, they take away crooked Joe Biden’s presidential immunity."
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Trump further asserted that without immunity, every outgoing president would face immediate indictment by the opposing party. He reiterated his stance that without complete immunity, a president would be unable to carry out his duties effectively. In light of the lawfare being waged against Trump, a new precedent has clearly been set that puts all future presidents at risk of criminal prosecution.
While we may not find out how the court rules on this matter until June, the justices may signal how they intend to vote during oral arguments, so it will be worth watching the proceedings.
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