Jack Smith on Saturday urged an appeals court to act quickly in deciding whether or not Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution in his D.C. election subversion case, a move one legal expert said could force the former president's hand to act more quickly.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance appeared on MSNBC's American Voices with Alicia Menendez on Saturday, where she was asked about Smith's appellate filing on the question of presidential immunity. Smith's motion says Trump is "wrong" in his arguments in favor of immunity, and suggests finding the opposite would put former presidents above the law.
Vance said the Supreme Court declined to hear the immunity appeal directly, but the government filed its brief and "asked the court to act rapidly."
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"Because at stake is not only how long it takes the court to decide after they hear argument on January 9th, after that there is sort of a procedural, administrative step the court does before it issues the mandate that makes that judgment final," she said. "And it's the issuance of the mandate that triggers Trump's obligation to either let that decision from the court of appeal stand or seek appeal to the Supreme Court."
This is where Smith's filing comes in, according to Vance.
"Now, the special counsel has asked the court to issue that mandate five days after they decide the case, which would force Trump to act quickly and decide whether or not to appeal to the Supreme Court. I suspect he will. And that takes us, really, to where we started."
