Trump Immunity: Only the Supreme Court Can Settle the Trump-Immunity Question

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-column series on the timing issues arising out of Tuesday’s D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling denying former president Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from criminal prosecution in connection with the federal election-interference indictment. The first column in the series, published Wednesday, is here.

Trump supporters argue that Biden Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election-interference prosecution is itself interference in the 2024 campaign. There is plenty of support for that claim. It does not follow, however, that because the D.C. Circuit nudged Trump toward an expedited appeal of its ruling rejecting his immunity claim, the Circuit is complicit in a politicized prosecution.

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-column series on the timing issues arising out of Tuesday’s D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling denying former president Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from criminal prosecution in connection with the federal election-interference indictment. The first column in the series, published Wednesday, is here.

Trump supporters argue that Biden Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election-interference prosecution is itself interference in the 2024 campaign. There is plenty of support for that claim. It does not follow, however, that because the D.C. Circuit nudged Trump toward an expedited appeal of its ruling rejecting his immunity claim, the Circuit is complicit in a politicized prosecution.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.