Lost in the swirl of events over the past three weeks, as well as the rapid pace of events in cases in multiple courts involving former President Trump, is the fact that he moved to dismiss the Washington D.C. case filed against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith based on a claim of “Presidential immunity” from criminal prosecution for acts while in office.
On October 19, 2023, Smith filed an Opposition to that motion. Much like the motion itself, the Opposition escaped scrutiny as it came around the same time Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro pled guilty – to what I’m still not certain – in the Georgia case, the judge in the New York state civil case was imposing sanctions and a gag order against the former President, and the judge in the DC case imposed, and then stayed, a gag order against the former President in that case.
In addition to the motion asserting Presidential immunity, Trump’s legal team filed additional motions last week challenging the case based on a variety of constitutional and statutory grounds. The oppositions from Smith to those motions are not yet due. The immunity motion might eventually be part of a single hearing addressing all the various motions filed to this point in the case, or it may be heard on its own.
So while the lack of attention given to the motion and opposition based on a claim of Presidential Immunity may be understandable, the significance of the motion and the arguments advanced by each side are not any less ground-shaking.
This is not a 3500-word tome with a detailed legal analysis of the various authorities and caselaw cited by each side. There is one pleading still to be filed – a reply from the former President to the SCO Opposition filed nearly two weeks ago.
The foundation of Trump’s motion is that there should be absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for former Presidents related to their official duties while in office. Smith’s Opposition argues that any such prohibition would run contrary to the axiomatic principle that “no man is above the law.”
Here is the problem – the law as established in the 230-plus years since the adoption of the Constitution provides no clear answer to this question. No subsequent administration has ever prosecuted the leader of the opposition political party who occupied the Office of the Presidency prior to that Administration. That is something that tends to only happen in Banana Republics, to prevent the predecessor from attempting to regain office in the next scheduled election.
Well , when they are Innocent like TRUMP they will WIN anyway & have Nothing to worry About !!!!!!