Trump's Supreme Court wild cards for 2024

[Jan 6 Lawful Assembly]

Two historic cases related to Jan. 6 arrived on the Supreme Court's
doorstep this week, each carrying profound implications for former
President Trump's prosecution and political future.



The high court will consider the scope of a federal statute that
makes it a crime for anyone who "corruptly" obstructs, influences or
impedes an official proceeding. Defendants argue the law was never
intended to apply to conduct such as Jan. 6 riot.
The case, which is not directly about Trump, has implications for
parts of his federal 2020 election indictment, which charged him
with obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to
obstruct.
On a separate matter, the Supreme Court was asked by special counsel
Jack Smith to weigh one of Trump's main defenses in his 2020
election subversion case — whether he is "absolutely immune" from
prosecution for crimes he committed in office.

In a request Smith himself called "extraordinary," the special
counsel on Monday asked the court to speedily take up and consider
whether ex-presidents have immunity.
Trump's team, which criticized Smith's request as a "Hail Mary," has
argued that he is protected from prosecution over actions that fell
under his official duties while president, a claim that was rejected
by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Chutkan on Wednesday agreed to temporarily pause all proceedings in
the 2020 election case as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs
Trump's immunity claims, a move hailed by his team as a "big win."

"I don't think there's a lot there that's historical precedent,
there's not many and the ones that are are not exactly like this,"
University of Richmond School of Law professor Carl Tobias told
Axios.

Smith's aggressive bid to leapfrog the appeals process to keep
Trump's March 4 trial on track could be stymied by the Supreme
Court's decision to consider the obstruction case, Derek Muller, a
University of Notre Dame law school professor, told Axios.
"Trump's attorneys could ask the court to delay the trial until the
Supreme Court issues a decision, because a decision would apply to
interpreting one of the statutes at issue in his case," he said.

The questions come as the court, with three Trump-appointed
justices, faces scrutiny over ethics controversies and a flagging
public reputation.
Justice Clarence Thomas has been entangled in the fallout from Jan.
6 after revelations that his wife, conservative activist Ginni
Thomas, urged Trump White House officials to try to overturn the
2020 election.
Some Democratic lawmakers have already called for Thomas to consider
recusing himself from both of the cases at the court's doorstep.

"It's hard to estimate ... but the justices have shown that they
appreciate the urgency and so I think [a decision] will be sooner
rather than later," Tobias said.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the review
of the question of obstruction in the spring, with a ruling likely
by the end of June, per Politico.

https://www.axios.com/2023/12/15/trump-supreme-court-jan-6-jack-
smith-doj