Staff Reports
Conservative legal expert Jonathan Turley sounded off on the recent federal appellate court decision smacking down immunity claims by former President Donald Trump. Turley made it crystal clear that Trump’s legal team is still in the game and ready to roll up their sleeves for a long, drawn-out battle that could stretch right smack into the heart of the next election season.
Turley, known for his sage conservative wisdom, pointed out that Trump still has a shot at appealing the appellate court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. And get this—Trump could even wrangle a bench trial with the very judges who dropped the bomb on him. That’s like playing a game of Monopoly and getting a “Get out of jail free” card, but then asking to stay in jail for a little while longer just for fun.
…That is without delays or a successful grant on by the D.C. Circuit (unlikely) or the Supreme Court (uncertain). After that appellate line is tied off, the parties would have to return to the trial court to resume the pre-trial work, which could take months. That puts the…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 6, 2024
Turley also highlighted the fact that Trump has the green light to file for a full review of the appellate court’s decision within weeks. And there’s more—a rejected appeal could mean that Trump can keep this courtroom circus running for a whopping 135 days, potentially pushing any trials all the way into the balmy, summer months. It’s like a legal version of Groundhog Day—each day is just another opportunity for Trump to keep the wheels of justice in perpetual motion.
With the possibility of trial delays looming, it’s not far-fetched to think that Trump’s legal wrangling could bring his cases dangerously close to election time. Turley pointed out that the Department of Justice has a cozy little policy of hitting the pause button on cases against politicians when elections are just around the corner. It’s kind of like the DOJ’s way of saying, “Hold up, let’s not stir the pot just yet. We’ve got an election to worry about.”
Let’s not forget what’s at stake here—Trump is facing a whopping 91 felony counts related to the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riots and some classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. In one corner, he’s batting for the fences, arguing that his calls for a march on Washington were just part of his presidential gig. And in the other corner, he’s adamantly claiming that he tossed around declassifications like confetti at a New Year’s Eve bash. If that’s not a legal smackdown waiting to happen, then what is?
