As the legal battle over Donald Trump’s presidential immunity claim continues, legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance highlights a crucial question surrounding the former president’s court cases. Trump, currently the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is awaiting an appeals court ruling on whether he is protected by presidential immunity in his election interference case. This argument is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court eventually.
Jack Smith, the special counsel, has spearheaded the investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into allegations that Trump sought to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, actions that culminated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump, without providing proof, has contended that the election was fraudulently taken from him through extensive voter fraud.
In August 2023, Trump was indicted by the DOJ on four counts related to the riot, including conspiracy against rights, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Trump has pleaded not guilty and insists that the case against him is politically motivated.
Furthermore, the former president has argued that presidential immunity should shield him from being tried for these charges. However, critics argue that he was not acting officially at the time.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show, Vance, a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Obama administration, discussed the speed at which the courts have been moving concerning Trump’s presidential immunity claim.
Host Katie Phang asked, “Why haven’t we seen more speed from the Supreme Court?”
Despite Trump’s strategy of delay with some judges, Vance noted that she believes that the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals are determined to move the process forward.
“The central issue here is Trump’s tactical approach to procrastinate, to settle matters to his advantage from the Oval Office should he be victorious in the election. Observing judges, such as Aileen Cannon in the criminal case connected to Florida’s Mar-a-Lago, has been baffling as she appears to have intentionally decelerated the proceedings,” Vance elucidated.
Cannon, who served as a U.S. district judge and was nominated by Trump in 2020, oversees the DOJ’s lawsuit against the ex-president concerning accusations that he improperly handled sensitive documents kept at his Florida resort home, Mar-a-Lago, after his White House tenure. Trump asserts that he is not guilty in this matter.
Vance continued, stating, “But the situation in Washington is quite promising. To non-lawyers, the speed at which courts operate can be confusing and drawn out. However, both courts have witnessed remarkable swiftness these past few weeks.”
