{"id":2216089,"date":"2024-04-08T23:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T03:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jack-smith-tells-supreme-court-to-keep-trump-charges-framers-never-endorsed-criminal-immunity\/"},"modified":"2024-04-08T23:08:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T03:08:22","slug":"jack-smith-tells-supreme-court-to-keep-trump-charges-framers-never-endorsed-criminal-immunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jack-smith-tells-supreme-court-to-keep-trump-charges-framers-never-endorsed-criminal-immunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Smith urges Supreme Court to proceed with Trump charges, emphasizing that the Founding Fathers never supported criminal immunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjack-smith-tells-supreme-court-to-keep-trump-charges-framers-never-endorsed-criminal-immunity%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2216089&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Special counsel Jack Smith called on\u2064 the Supreme Court to reject Donald Trump&#8217;s bid for \u200dpresidential immunity to evade a\u2063 trial on alleged efforts \u2062to undermine the 2020 election. Smith emphasized that \u2062the\u2063 Framers never intended such privileges for former presidents. \u2064The court is set to review \u200dTrump&#8217;s arguments on\u2063 April \u200b25 regarding potential immunity for his \u2063actions\u2063 while in office. Special counsel Jack Smith urged the Supreme Court\u2063 to dismiss\u2062 Donald Trump&#8217;s request for presidential immunity\u2062 to avoid a trial related to the alleged interference in the 2020 election. Smith highlighted that the Founding Fathers did not\u200d envision granting such protections to ex-presidents. The court is scheduled to assess \u2062Trump&#8217;s\u200b claims on April 25 regarding immunity for his past actions as president.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Special counsel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jack Smith<\/a> called on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Supreme Court<\/a> on Monday to reject a bid by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a> to invoke presidential immunity to avoid a trial over an alleged effort to subvert the 2020 election results, saying the \u201cFramers\u201d never intended such privileges for former presidents.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court is poised to weigh Trump\u2019s arguments on April 25 that he should not be prosecuted for acts taken while he was still president, namely Smith\u2019s four<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3500-mexican-soldiers-execute-operation-to-arrest-el-chapos-son-dozens-killed-and-wounded-report\/\" title=\"3,500 Mexican Soldiers Execute Operation To Arrest El Chapo\u2019s Son, Dozens Killed And Wounded: Report\">-count indictment alleging<\/a> an effort to upend President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a>\u2018s 2020 election victory. Smith told the justices in a court filing that even if they find that former presidents enjoy some form of immunity, at least some of Trump\u2019s actions were \u201cprivate conduct\u201d and should be prosecuted.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Framers never endorsed criminal immunity for a former President, and all Presidents from the Founding to the modern era have known that after leaving office they faced potential criminal liability for official acts,\u201d Smith told the high court in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/23\/23-939\/306999\/20240408191803801_United%20States%20v.%20Trump%20final%20for%20filing.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"66-page filing\">66-page filing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Smith took aim at several of Trump\u2019s claims that have been made in an effort to convince the court that he should be immune from charges in the case. He pointed out that Trump \u201csuggests that unless a criminal statute expressly names the President, the statute does not apply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat radical suggestion, which would free the President from virtually all criminal law \u2014 even crimes such as bribery, murder, treason, and sedition \u2014 is unfounded,\u201d the filing said, adding that the text of \u201cnearly all\u201d federal criminal laws covers all individuals, including the president.<\/p>\n<p>Smith was appointed by Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/merrick-garland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Merrick Garland<\/a> in 2022 to investigate Trump\u2019s alleged role to overturn the last presidential election along with Trump\u2019s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. Altogether, Trump faces 88 charges across four criminal indictments as he seeks another run for presidential office, and he has pleaded not guilty in each case.<\/p>\n<p>Trump filed his own initial argument in the election interference case last month, arguing that future presidents would become vulnerable to \u201cde facto blackmail and extortion while in office\u201d if the court denied him immunity, adding that past presidents could have been charged for actions they also took in office.<\/p>\n<p>Smith addressed Trump\u2019s claims directly in the latest brief, arguing the effective functioning of the presidency \u201cdoes not require that a former president be immune from accountability\u201d for the alleged violations of federal law.<\/p>\n<p>The special prosecutor also sought to pour cold water on Trump\u2019s assertion that his case would need to be reanalyzed by a trial court judge if the justices were to find that presidents enjoy some form of immunity. If the justices were to accept this argument, it could serve as another move to push an already-delayed trial even further back on the calendar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if the court were inclined to recognize some immunity for a former president\u2019s official acts, it should remand for trial because the indictment alleges substantial private conduct in service of petitioner\u2019s private aim,\u201d Smith\u2019s filing read.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst, a President\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senator-grassley-fbi-and-doj-will-damage-their-credibility-further-if-they-dont-cooperate-with-subpoena\/\" title=\"Grassley warns FBI and DOJ to cooperate with subpoena or risk credibility damage.\">alleged criminal scheme<\/a> to overturn an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power to his lawfully elected successor is the paradigmatic example of conduct that should not be immunized, even if other conduct should be,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-to-appear-in-person-for-arraignment-on-gun-charges\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden to attend arraignment for gun charges.\">special counsel added<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Smith furthered that the indictment should remain against Trump even if the high court rules in favor of a case brought by several Jan. 6 riot defendants charged with obstructing Congress\u2019s efforts on Jan. 6, 2021. The case in question, <em>Fischer v. United States<\/em>, will be argued before the justices next week and posits that the Justice Department misappropriated an obstruction law against the rioters. Trump is facing two charges related to the law that will be examined by the high court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether the Court interprets [that provision] consistently with a natural reading of its text or adopts the evidence-impairment gloss urged by the petitioner in <em>Fischer,<\/em> the Section 1512 charges in this case are valid,\u201d Smith wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s effort to avoid trial in this federal case is crucial to his effort to evade any potential conviction ahead of the November 2024 election, as Trump could seek to dismiss his two federal indictments if he were to regain the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Two federal lower courts have already rejected Trump\u2019s broad claims of presidential immunity, the latest being a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which unanimously rejected Trump\u2019s effort in February.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trump was initially slated to have his trial begin at the beginning of last month, but after appealing the D.C. Circuit\u2019s ruling, the Supreme Court stepped in and scheduled arguments over the matter for the final week of April. A decision could come between May and June, and until then, proceedings are paused at the trial court level.<\/p>\n<p>The former president is now preparing to embark on a trial in a separate criminal case in New York on allegations of falsified business statements related to hush money payments to a porn star in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 15, and Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jack Smith, special counsel, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss Donald Trump&#8217;s attempt to claim presidential immunity and evade a trial over alleged attempts to undermine the 2020 election. Smith emphasized that the &#8220;Framers&#8221; never intended such protections for ex-presidents. The Supreme Court is set to consider Trump&#8217;s claims<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2216090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23361566741688-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23361566741688-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2216089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2216090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2216089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2216089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2216089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}