Today, the D.C. Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on whether Special Counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election lawsuit against President Donald Trump has the right to be dismissed on grounds of executive privilege.
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Here's what you need to know:
Case: No.23-3228, United States vs. Donald J. Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the following criminal charges against Mr. Trump: conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States, conspiracy to obstruct and obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy to undermine election rights and vote counting. The charges stem from what happened in the weeks after the 2020 election and ending on January 6, 2021, conduct that Smith characterized as disrespecting legitimate votes and overturning the election results. is emitting.Remarkably, Smith do not have Charge Trump with sedition. Trump's lawyers moved to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting presidential immunity. In December, the D.C. federal district judge who oversaw the trial denied the request to dismiss. Today's hearing is an appeal against that decision.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Scott Olson/Al Drago/Bloomberg)
problem: Whether former presidents are immune from federal prosecution after leaving office for acts committed while in office. It has long been recognized in American jurisprudence that the President of the United States is immune from civil action against judgments while in his official capacity. Additionally, as is the practice of the Department of Justice, sitting presidents are not subject to criminal charges. Trump has consistently maintained that all of his actions up until his final day in office were official. Smith said that in the weeks after the election until January 6, Trump was acting as a “job seeker” rather than a “public office” holder, and therefore he was not entitled to normal protections. insisted. Some constitutional scholars have also warned of the dangers of the government's apparent efforts to criminalize the former president's First Amendment rights.
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What's going wrong: Whether Jack Smith's election lawsuit against Trump will be dismissed on grounds of presidential immunity. The case is still in the pretrial motions stage, meaning the trial will examine the actual nature of the case, not the charges themselves, but whether the case should be tried at all.
How quickly can we expect a decision to be made? There is no deadline for the three-judge panel to issue a ruling, but it is expected to issue an opinion quickly given the impact the decision could have on the 2024 election. Mr. Smith continues to advocate for a speedy resolution of the case, and has made it clear that he wants the trial to proceed on March 4. The Trump team's strategy was to postpone the March 4 trial, because the March 4 trial cannot proceed until the appeal is heard and some sort of resolution is reached. The losing side will probably demand one of the following: big bank Rehear the case (in the Washington, D.C., Federal Court of Appeals) or appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court has complete discretion over which cases it will accept or not accept, and it accepts less than 1% of the cases filed each year.
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The lawyer said: Dean Sauer will come to Trump's defense. James Pearce of the Department of Justice will appear on behalf of the U.S. government.
judge: Arguments will be heard by three judges: Karen Henderson (President Bush's 1990 appointee), Michelle Childs (Biden's 2022 appointee), and Florence Pan (Biden's 2022 appointee).
court: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is considered the second most powerful court in the country after the U.S. Supreme Court. Prominent former D.C. Circuit judges include John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Merrick Garland, Ken Starr, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Antonin Scalia.
Attendees: Mr. Trump is also expected to attend. Michael Dreeben of the Justice Department may also have a seat at the government's advisory table. Mr. Dreeben was a member of special counsel Bob Mueller's team that ended the investigation into then-President Donald Trump's lies about election cooperation between Trump and Russia, which resulted in no charges against the former president.
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Taxpayer burden: Jack Smith revealed in his latest spending report that his election investigation into the former president has cost taxpayers more than $12 million so far. Mr. Smith was appointed special counsel in November 2022, but his latest report includes expenses through September 2023.
Nuts and bolts: Arguments begin at 9:30 a.m., and oral arguments will be livestreamed at this link. Both sides will be given 20 minutes to make their case, but the hearing is expected to last longer.
