Trump clings to Supreme Court immunity ruling in documents case

Former President Trump is beginning to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling in his classified documents criminal case.

In court documents filed on Friday, Trump asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to stay most proceedings in the case until she resolves Trump’s immunity defense. His lawyers proposed a schedule of written instructions that would extend into early September, meaning a decision would not be made until at least the fall.

“Resolution of these borderline issues is necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the Presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in their motion.

The request marks the latest fallout from the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Monday granting at least presumed criminal immunity for official acts by former presidents while in office.

Special Counsel Jack Smith previously said he did not accuse Trump of any official acts in the documents case, but Smith’s team now has to deal with the Supreme Court’s broad shield, which further specifies that official acts cannot also serve as evidence. .

“Questions of whether the president can be held responsible for specific actions consistent with the separation of powers must be addressed at the outset of a proceeding,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

Trump’s team on Friday requested that Cannon put the case on hold except for special counsel Jack Smith’s pending request for a gag order.

In their motion, Trump’s lawyers also seized on the concurring opinion of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, in which he questioned whether Smith was lawfully appointed.

“For this unprecedented process to proceed, it must be led by someone duly authorized to do so by the American people. The lower courts must therefore answer these essential questions regarding the appointment of the Special Counsel before proceeding,” Thomas wrote.

Trump made this argument in his classified documents case, and Cannon, a Trump appointee, held a hearing on the matter last month. She allowed three lawyers who filed friend-of-the-court briefs to argue before her at the hearing, one of several unusual moves that have drawn scrutiny from Trump’s critics.

The former president asked Cannon to continue blocking the case from moving forward until she also resolved the issue.

The former president faces 40 indictments accusing him of misusing classified records and attempting to obstruct the government’s recovery of those records after he left the White House. He has pleaded not guilty and a trial date has not yet been set.

Separately, Trump is recently seeking to overturn his recent 34-count conviction in his hush-hush criminal case following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, with the judge already postponing sentencing until September to consider the matter.

In his other two criminal cases, Trump has not yet cited the high court ruling.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story