The U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump on his appeal regarding presidential immunity.
The panel of three judges affirmed the District Court’s ruling in this matter. The appeal postponed the March 4 start date of the case against election interference.
BREAKING: Donald Trump is *NOT* immune from prosecution, DC Circuit rules.
Details TK pic.twitter.com/U0rgc5kNXd
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 6, 2024
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, explained that, even though Trump lost the case, the mere filing of the lawsuit bought him time.
The most immediate impact of the appeal was the delay it caused. The Trump team was right to want to delay the trial. Turley stated that they had succeeded in this.
You can see from the Court of Appeals’ order that the Trump team was given very little time in which to file a case with the Supreme Court. This sparked much discussion on social networks about what the Court had said in its ruling.
Turley points out that Trump has until Monday, February 12, to ask the Supreme Court for a stay or the case will be sent back to the District Court.
The D.C. Circuit order adds a wrinkle on scheduling by saying that Trump only has until Monday, Feb. 12 to file with the Supreme Court. The standard rules allow Trump 90 days. If he does not, the mandate returns to the District Court which can restart pre-trial proceedings…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 6, 2024
The Circuit Court says that if Trump does not file his appeal by Monday, it will send the case back to the District Court to continue proceedings.
If the standard rules allow a defendant 90 days to file appeal with SCOTUS, why did the DC Circuit allow Trump just 6 days? https://t.co/vAPCx9kbyZ
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 6, 2024
Turley said that there are still some things that can delay the clock.
…However, if the judge restarts pre-trial proceedings it could again be interrupted by an appeal. That includes a possible emergency motion to the Court to stay proceedings. That would go Chief Justice Roberts and he would likely send it to the full court…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 6, 2024
In the District Court, there is a lot more pre-trial work to do before the trial can begin. Special Counsel Jack Smith appears to be trying to expedite the process.
Turley points out that Smith’s time is running out if he hopes to have the case tried and decided before the elections.
…Keep in mind, there is still much to be done on the district court level. Whenever the court restarts pretrial proceedings, it could take weeks, if not months. If everything breaks for Smith on the calendar, he could still secure a pre-election trial but he is facing…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 6, 2024
I assume the Trump team is going to file, but there’s been a time crunch and many were complaining about the treatment Trump received. Many questioned why Trump didn’t get the normal process.
And Trump and his appellate team are already arguing the separate Colorado disqualification case before the Supreme Court on Thursday, February 8th.
For the DC Circuit to rule Trump only gets until Monday, February 12th–instead of 90 days–to file proves this is very political. https://t.co/CZK76UoaNA
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) February 6, 2024
We will probably hear from the Supreme Court fairly quickly and have a good idea of where they intend to go with this.
