Trump immunity appeal offers best chance to stave off 2020 election trial

girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works to News@lemmy.world – 21 points – Trump immunity appeal offers best chance to stave off 2020 election trial
reuters.com

The gambit by the former U.S. president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination may succeed, legal experts said -- not necessarily by persuading higher courts of the merits of his case, but simply by bogging down the system and keeping him free to campaign against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Trump's lawyers on Thursday said they'd appeal a ruling by the federal judge overseeing his upcoming Washington, D.C., trial on federal election subversion charges denying Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution related to official actions he took as president.

That ruling may be the last one Trump will be able to appeal before the start of his trial, currently scheduled to begin in March.

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From the article:

It is unclear how long a delay Trump’s appeal may create. Legal experts said the D.C. Circuit court could fast-track the case, potentially issuing a decision within a month or two and leaving the current schedule largely intact. But if the appeals court does not quickly rule and the Supreme Court decides to take the case, a March trial is highly unlikely and the case may be in limbo for months.

This is definitely a concern, but if you look at the recent past behavior of appeals courts with respect to Trump, everything has happened very quickly. It's undeniable that it's in the public interest to have as many genuine verdicts as possible before the election. The public needs to know whether Trump is judged guilty or not guilty, and they need to know this before the election.

As a result, every ethical panel of judges will fast-track all of his appeals, regardless of their political inclinations. The only judge who has been delaying has already been criticized for unethical behavior by her appeals court, Aileen Cannon.