Former President and convicted felon Donald Trump's ability to reclaim the power he lost in 2020 relies almost entirely on the Supreme Court's potential willingness to "kneecap the effort" to hold him accountable, a new analysis contends.
Philip Bump wrote for the Washington Post Tuesday a lengthy exploration of the many ways Trump's teams are relying on the Supreme Court to save them from criminal prosecution.
"The Supreme Court remains the linchpin of Trumpworld’s push for power," writes Bump. "Trump’s response to his New York conviction and a new indictment of his allies in Wisconsin are the latest examples."
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Bump notes three of the nine justices are Trump appointees. While not under any legal obligation to do him any favors, Bump argues that is exactly what Trump expects.
"Trump’s assessment of the utility of the court for his ambitions was often overt," Bump notes. "His nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (the justice who arrived right before the 2020 election) came as he argued that a full bench was needed because of 'this scam that the Democrats are pulling' — referring to the dishonest idea he was promoting that the election would be somehow stolen."
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Now the court is faced with ruling on whether presidential immunity protects him from charges tied to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he baselessly claimed had been rigged.
"The Supreme Court is at the tail end of its term. Among the unresolved issues for which we expect a decision soon: whether Trump, as president, had broad immunity for his actions," writes Bump.
"That decision could, in a flash, kneecap the effort to hold Trump accountable for his efforts to retain power after losing in 2020."
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