Supreme Court Will Rule Against Donald Trump, Attorney Predicts

The Supreme Court will rule against Donald Trump and say that a former president can be prosecuted over alleged crimes committed while in office, according to a legal expert.

Neal Katyal, a lawyer and former acting U.S. solicitor general during the Obama administration, was reacting to Special Counsel Jack Smith's move to go directly to the Supreme Court to decide whether Trump can cite presidential immunity after getting hit with four federal charges over allegations he illegally tried to overturn the 2020 election results now that he is not in the White House.

Smith sought to bypass the usual steps of going through the lower courts and go straight to SCOTUS to quickly resolve the issue and hinder Trump's attempts to delay the trial with appeals surrounding his immunity arguments.

The timing of the federal trial, which is currently set for March 2024, is crucial for Trump. If he can delay the proceedings until after the 2024 election and then beat Joe Biden in the race next November, Trump could demand the Department of Justice drop the investigation into him once he enters the White House. If he is found guilty before the election, voters could take to the polls knowing Trump is a convicted criminal.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, has long accused all investigations into him as being politically motivated "witch hunts" that aim to prevent him from winning the election.

Speaking to MSNBC's Alex Wagner Tonight, Katyal said the Supreme Court will back Smith in the immunity debate and that Trump is wrong to believe he can still cite the defense despite no longer being in office. Prosecutors have also frequently rejected the idea that committing crimes falls within a president's duties in office.

"I think the Supreme Court is going to decide it. They're going to agree to hear the case," Katyal said. "And I think they will, if not unanimously, pretty darn close to a rule against criminal defendant Donald Trump."

"And that's for a couple of reasons. But the most important one is the extraordinary thing that Trump is trying to argue, which is that he can murder someone and get away with it. That being president gives him a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card," Katyal added.

"Now, Trump has left office, Jack Smith is prosecuting him, and as a former president—I know Trump thinks he's still the president, but he's not in the reality-based world—and the Supreme Court, I think, is going to say, 'how can it be that a former president has absolute immunity?' That's just not American."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team via email for comment.

In their legal filings, Smith's office admitted going directly to the Supreme Court to resolve the issue is an "extraordinary" request.

"This is an extraordinary case," prosecutors wrote. "The Court should grant certiorari and set a briefing schedule that would permit this case to be argued and resolved as promptly as possible."

The Supreme Court agreed to take the case on Monday. The court also issued an order telling Trump's legal team to file their responses by December 20, suggesting that it is also keen on resolving the immunity issue quickly.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Trump accused Smith of being "obsessed with interfering" in the 2024 election and is currently trying for "a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court" and attempting to bypass the appellate process.

"As President Trump has said over and over again, this prosecution is completely politically motivated. It is an unprecedented attack against Crooked Joe Biden's Political Opponent—Banana Republic style," the spokesperson said.

"There is absolutely no reason to rush this Witch Hunt to trial, except to injure President Trump and his 150 million, at least, supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics."