Jack Smith's Supreme Court Request Has 'One Additional Wrinkle': Attorney

Amid the denial of Department of Justice's (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith's request for expedited consideration of former President Donald Trump's immunity claim in his federal election case, the request contains "one additional wrinkle," according to former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance.

The former president was indicted on four counts in August, accused of attempting to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden in the run-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. It is one of four criminal cases Trump is facing, which include 91 felony charges, as he campaigns to retake the White House in 2024. Meanwhile, Trump has maintained his innocence in all cases, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political purposes.

On Friday, the Supreme Court denied Smith's petition for expedited consideration of Trump's immunity claim in his federal election case, refusing to jump ahead of the Court of Appeals on the matter. Smith had filed the petition in hopes of fast-tracking arguments on whether the former president could claim that presidential immunity protected him from prosecution. The immunity question must be decided before the case goes to trial.

The immunity appeal will now go to the D.C. Court of Appeals, which has scheduled arguments for January 9. The matter could go back to the Supreme Court after a decision from the appeals court.

In an interview with MSNBC on Saturday, Vance, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during the Obama administration, pointed out a "wrinkle" in Smith's motion that could accelerate the process for the Supreme Court to eventually hear and make a ruling on the question of presidential immunity.

"There's one additional wrinkle we should mention. In Jack Smith's motion here, he asked the Supreme Court to consider if they would not hear the case directly, if they wanted to go to the Court of Appeals, he asked them to consider taking the case immediately following the Court of Appeals decision without waiting for en banc and the usual time for certiorari. The Supreme Court has been silent so far on that request so we don't know what they are thinking," Vance said.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump via email for comment.

Posting to Truth Social on Saturday, Trump cheered the Supreme Court decision. "The Supreme Court has unanimously rejected Deranged Jack Smith's 'SUPER SPEEDY' lawsuit against me," he wrote.

"If I were polling poorly, like everyone else against me is (including Crooked Joe Biden!), or, for some reason, I decided not to run, they never would have even brought this ridiculous and disgraceful lawsuit. It is Election Interference like never before seen in our Country," Trump added.

Vance continued to lay out the timeline of the presidential immunity hearing.

"The next stage is the first layer of appeal which is a three judge panel in the appellate court. Trump could even ask for a motion for re-hearing. If he loses with that three-judge panel, it gives him a little bit of extra delay, but it's usually something that does not work out for a defendant to ask for a hearing from the same judges who ruled against him," she said.

Smith filed his petition with the Supreme Court last week as part of his effort to keep the trial on its scheduled March 4, 2024, date. The immunity claim has already been rejected by Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, which is why it's now being heard by the court of appeals.

Smith's denied request comes after Chutkan agreed to temporarily pause proceedings, pending the outcome of Trump's presidential immunity appeal.

"As the D.C. Circuit recently made clear, a former President's absolute immunity would constitute "an entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens of litigation, such as discovery obligations," Chutkan wrote.

However, she noted that if the case is returned to her, she will consider "whether to retain or continue the dates of any still-future deadlines and proceedings, including the trial scheduled for March 4."

The case would return to her if Trump's immunity claim is ultimately rejected, allowing the prosecution to move forward. The question is at the forefront of the federal election case because should Trump's claim prevail, the prosecution against him related to January 6 would be undermined.