This week brought milestones, good and bad, in two of the criminal cases against Donald Trump. The positive one came in his prosecution in New York City for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up interference in the 2016 election. There, prosecutors rested their case on Monday, having put on a powerful case in the view of many — including one of the authors (Eisen), who has been present daily in court. On Tuesday, the defense rested, as well, and Judge Juan Merchan told the jury to expect summations and deliberation next week.
The negative milestone came in Washington, regarding the federal prosecution of Trump in the District of Columbia for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election. On Monday, the Supreme Court blew past a critical date, by which precedent teaches the dispute over Trump’s claim of presidential immunity should have been decided. However the New York case turns out, its rapid movement should serve as a rebuke to the ethically conflicted Supreme Court justices who are obviously and unduly stalling the Washington case.
The justices surely know a president doesn’t get a free pass on every crime.
The truth is we should have already had or been close to a verdict in the federal prosecution brought by special counsel Jack Smith. That case concerns the conspiracy Trump allegedly orchestrated to manipulate the results of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Washington case had been set to begin in early March, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg had expressed openness to postponing the New York case so the Washington one could go first. With the federal trial estimated to last eight to 12 weeks, it would most likely be done or wrapping up by now.
The reason that didn’t happen is that a majority on the court decided to delay the administration of justice by considering Trump’s outrageous presidential immunity argument. Trump argues that because he was president at the time of the alleged crimes, he is immune from prosecution in the case. But he doesn’t stop there: His lawyers have presented a shocking theory of presidential power that would render him immune even if he ordered SEAL Team Six to assassinate his political rivals (barring first being impeached and convicted, something that has never happened in American history).
Agreeing to address this absurd claim was legally unnecessary. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., unanimously rejected it. The justices surely know a pres