The rapid decision from the Supreme Court to agree to listen to arguments from special counsel Jack Smith that Donald Trump does not have absolute immunity from being charged with crimes that he committed while president is not good news for the former president.
According to one former federal prosecutor, the very fact that the nation's highest court responded so rapidly is a "bad omen" for the four-time indicted ex-president.
As Vice's Greg Walters is reporting, if Donald Trump's "master plan" was to use the legal system to delay and delay and delay his trial dates, it fell apart when Smith made the unprecedented move to skip a battle in the Appeals Court and go straight to the top for what could be a historic ruling.
Despite Trump having placed three of the justices on the court, the quick turnaround could be a sign that they don't have his back and that they realize the importance of their eventual ruling with an election less than a year away.
RELATED: 'Clueless' Trump attorneys screw up asking for expedited appeal: legal expert
That is borne out in an interview with Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, who explained, "This is a bad omen for Trump. My sense is that members of the Supreme Court are saying to themselves: ‘We cannot wait, this has to happen soon.’”
According to Walters, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court has not been a close ally of the former president, with the journalist writing.
"Trump may think that the Supreme Court should bend in his direction, given that he personally appointed three members of its 6-3 conservative majority," Walters writes. "But the court hasn’t shown much preference for Trump’s arguments when considering his personal legal issues in the past, and has ruled against him in important battles."
Worse still, Walters noted, is the fact that should the court rule quickly against Trump and the trials quicken their pace, the former president could be looking at a possible conviction before election day 2024 which poilling indiccates woud be devastating to his chances.
"Polls suggest that even many Republicans might rethink their support for Trump if his criminal charges turn into convictions. One recent survey found that 31 percent of Republican voters said they wouldn’t support Trump after a conviction," he wrote. "If such a large number holds all the way to election day, the defection could handily turn the election in Biden’s favor."
You can read more here.
