'Let's not read anything into that': Trump's Supreme Court case spurs replies from experts

'Let's not read anything into that': Trump's Supreme Court case spurs replies from experts
Supreme Court 2022, Image via Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Legal analysts are up in arms Wednesday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court revealed it would accept arguments for Donald Trump's New York state case, which some say should have gone to the New York State Supreme Court instead.

Trump's legal team also submitted a request to the top court in New York, however.

Trump is demanding that the Supreme Court intervene in his sentencing, which is scheduled for Friday, January 10. However, the incoming president claims he's immune from the guilty verdict and enjoys the same immunity protections as a president-elect.

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Former impeachment lawyer Norm Eisen told CNN on Tuesday night, "It was SCOTUS that enabled Trump to dodge accountability for his criminal wrongdoing. Now SCOTUS has Trump's NY appeal—& they may be willing to help him again."

Writing for MSNBC's opinion pages, former federal prosecutor Joyce White Vance had one big question. "This morning, Trump asked SCOTUS to delay his sentencing in a NY state court on Friday. The Judge has already said he won't sentence Trump to time in prison. So why is Trump fighting so hard to keep it from happening?"

Harvard emeritus Professor Laurence Tribe, who taught Constitutional Law, commented, "Predictably, President-elect Trump has asked the Court he has carefully stacked to accord him all the privileges of the office he has yet to occupy. The legal flimsiness of his request isn’t likely to matter much with these Justices. Hope I’m proven wrong, but I’m not optimistic."

Legal reporter Cristian Farias commented, "I really hope Sonia Sotomayor, the circuit justice for the jurisdiction that covers Manhattan, and a former assistant district attorney herself, can inform her colleagues that this is not how any of this works. If anyone can knock some sense into them, it’s her. Maybe."

Senior Lawfare editor Roger Parloff politely asked, "Let's not read anything into the fact that Trump's SCOTUS docket number is ... 666."

Indeed, Trump's docket number in this matter is 24A666. It's the number often associated by Christians as the sign of the Antichrist, cited in The Book of Revelation 13:18.

MSNBC legal analyst Kristy Greenberg posted the GIF of the character Charlie from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," outlining his conspiracy theories. She remarked, "Judge Cannon trying to find a way to delay Trump’s NY sentencing from Florida."

Reuters crime and justice reporter Brad Heath pointed out: "Can Donald Trump ask the courts to delay his criminal sentencing, then turn around and argue that the delay means it's too late and the case must be dismissed? You bet he can."

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President Donald Trump issued a not-so-subtle message to members of his own party late Friday night, firing off an angry post on Truth Social after a Supreme Court ruling dealt his MAGA tariff agenda a devastating blow.

In the post, Trump appeared to target conservatives who sided with the majority opinion, including two justices he personally appointed to the high court, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.

“Republicans are so disloyal to themselves!” Trump wrote. “Unite, stick together, and WIN! President DJT”

The outburst came as Trump continued a spree of attacks following the court’s decision on Friday, which rejected the administration’s sweeping tariff claims. Earlier in the day, the president said justices who voted against his tariff policy “should be ashamed of themselves,” called the decision “ridiculous,” and instituted a 10% tariff on all countries.

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CNN anchor Abby Phillip repeatedly sparred Friday night with a conservative podcast host during a tense debate over presidential tariff powers following the White House’s devastating Supreme Court loss.

The argument ignited when Anthony Esposito, who co-hosts the “Policy & Profits” podcast, dismissed the court’s conclusion that tariffs function as taxes.

“The president has the constitutional right to tariff, not to tax,” Esposito said. “A tax and a tariff – that’s semantics.”

That’s when Phillip immediately pushed back.

“The court settled that issue today,” she said. “They made it very clear that in this case, a tariff is a tax. And both are in the hands of Congress.”

But when Esposito, chief executive officer at AscalonVI Capital, insisted that what Phillip said was “not true,” and that tariffs are “a fee charged to another country,” Phillip chuckled – then wasted no time stopping him.

“A tariff is a what?” she asked, appearing stunned. A tariff is a fee charged to who?”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” the CNN host of “NewsNight” said. “Is there any evidence that a foreign government has paid Donald Trump’s tariffs?”

About ten minutes later, Phillip returned to the issue as the two continued to talk past each other.

“The only point that I’m making,” Phillip argued, “is that Congress determines what powers he has.”

The Justice Department said Friday that a newly appointed interim U.S. attorney in Virginia was fired just hours after federal judges selected him to lead the influential office, triggering a fresh clash between the judiciary and the Trump administration.

According to CNN, judges in the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously appointed veteran defense attorney James Hundley to serve as interim U.S. attorney after Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan was forced out last month.

Shortly after the appointment, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche unceremoniously announced in a social media post that the new nominee was out.

“Here we go again,” Blanche wrote Friday. “EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!”

Not long after, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavin, an assistant to the president, added, “Check your email, James.”

Hundley did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNN reported it has reached out to the Justice Department.

Halligan’s brief tenure at the Trump Justice Department ended after failed attempts to prosecute the MAGA leader’s political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. A federal judge later ruled Halligan’s appointment invalid, writing that the power to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney rests with the court until a Senate-confirmed nominee is approved, CNN reported.

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