Donald Trump’s legal team is trying to have the election interference case, which Judge Chutkan is presided over, tossed in the same manner that Judge Aileen Cannon tossed the classified documents case.
That ruling, by the way, is being appealed.
As for the January 6 case, well, I would not count on it based on Judge Chutkan’s reaction to Trump’s defense team’s arguments.
Not Meant to Be Funny
A recent report in the New York Times confirmed that Judge Chutkan found it rather amusing that Trump’s defense team was citing immunity and the appointment of Smith to have the case tossed.
The report stated that Chutkan “chuckled” and rolled her eyes at Trump’s attorneys when they made their argument, saying they were not “particularly persuasive.”
If you read the superseding indictment that was filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, he went out of his way to remove any suggestion that Trump’s actions were that of a sitting president.
For instance, he calls Trump a “candidate” rather than former president, and in this particular case, that means everything.
The argument does not hold water regarding Smith’s appointment, which was the basis for Cannon tossing the classified documents case.
Attorneys General have been appointing Special Counsels since the 1970s, after the issue was heavily litigated, and this practice has never been challenged until this point.
But the kicker here is that if the courts eventually rule that Smith’s appointment was illegal, then the findings of every special counsel dating back to the Nixon era will be voided, and I just don’t see the Supreme Court allowing that to happen.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see Judge Cannon’s ruling holding up once this reaches the Supreme Court.
I will gladly eat my plate of crow if I am wrong, but every attorney I have spoken to has told me the same thing… the AG absolutely has the authority to appoint a special counsel and has for decades.
