A U.S. Supreme Court shaped by Donald Trump is destined to play a pivotal role in determining whether he will land in prison — or return to the White House.
Trump vowed to seek Supreme Court review after Colorado’s top court on Tuesday barred him from the 2024 presidential ballot there, saying his incitement of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol disqualifies him from holding office. The 4-3 decision said that under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, he had forfeited his right to run.
And the high court could say this week whether it will take up Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request for fast-track review of the former president’s bid for absolute immunity from criminal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Together, the cases — and others potentially on the way — promise to give the justices enormous sway over his legal and political fate.
Supreme Court involvement is “all but a certainty,” said Carter Phillips, a Washington lawyer at Sidley Austin who has argued 81 high court cases and signed a brief opposing Trump’s assertion of immunity. “There are just too many issues floating around.”
Already the justices are set to hear an appeal from a Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendant in a case that could undercut part of Smith’s prosecution of Trump.
Supreme Court success isn’t guaranteed for Trump. Although his three appointees – Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – shifted the court sharply to the right, that hasn’t translated into victories for Trump in his legal battles.
Trump Rejections
Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the court repeatedly rejected Trump and his allies as they sought to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory. And in the three years since Trump left office, the court has rejected him four times in document-related battles with prosecutors and lawmakers.
The court dealt with most of those cases without…
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