Legal experts: Jack Smith's "tour de force" filing "slyly" takes a hammer to Trump immunity defense [View all]

(Salon) Donald Trump is poised to lose his presidential immunity appeal in his election interference case, an ex-associate White House lawyer in the former president's administration says.

Trump is accused of four felonies related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. His lawyers have tried to invoke presidential immunity in an effort to have the federal case thrown out, claiming he has "absolute immunity" from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office.

"So, [special counsel] Jack Smith has a winner on this one, right?" Jim Schultz said during an interview with CNN on Monday, noting that the case will appear before the D.C. Circuit Court, which he added is widely understood among the legal community to be the "the warm-up act for the Supreme Court."

Smith, in a rare move, last month petitioned the Supreme Court to circumvent the D.C. Circuit and deliver an expedited ruling on the immunity question. The high court, however, rejected the request, offering no explanation for the decision. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/02/legal-experts-jack-smiths-tour-de-force-filing-slyly-takes-a-hammer-to-immunity-defense/?in_brief=true