MSNBC panelists recently got the word live on the air that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider special prosecutor Jack Smith’s motion for a hearing on Donald Trump’s claim that he has immunity from criminal prosecution via Mediaite.
It has been noted that the panel had been discussing Smith’s unusual move of appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday regarding Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution. Trump’s attorneys argued that his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election fell within his duties as president.
Trump lost that argument in federal district court and is now appealing. Smith was trying to bypass the appeals court to get a decision quickly so the trial could start by March 4.
“Dave, I just handed you a piece of paper, I don’t know what that means,” Ali Velshi said to panelist Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County.
“So, Jack Smith went to the U.S. Supreme Court and asked them to intervene on the question of presidential immunity. Because the appellate court hasn’t ruled yet. And, so, Jack Smith wants to speed this whole case along, the D.C. election interference case. That’s the only case I think’s going to be heard before the election,” Aronberg said. “And The U.S. Supreme Court just now said that they will consider it. So it’s game on. And that’s a good thing. That shows the Supreme Court takes this matter seriously and wants Trump’s trial in D.C. to actually be heard before the election.”
Ali Velshi added, “They are asking Donald Trump to respond, to file a written response. They are going to consider this. But they’re asking the respondent to file a response to the petition before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December the 20th. So, one of the things we were discussing at the beginning of the show was whether this would happen, whether the Supreme Court would hear it, but more importantly the timeline. Right? The reason Jack Smith went to the Supreme Court is because he wants his trial to start in March and Donald Trump would like this trial to possibly never happen.”
“Right,” Aronberg agreed. “Trump wants the trial to happen half past never. And the issue is the appellate court, they were sitting on the gag order. It took them weeks. And it’s like, come on. And, so, Jack Smith saw the writing on the wall and said, ‘Hey, Supreme Court, you’re going to get this case anyway, do it now.’ And the Supreme Court, just like they did in 1974, U.S. V. Nixon, decided to intervene.”
