Today is Friday, December 22, 2023.      In one stunning setback for special counsel Jack Smith’s election obstruction case involving the former president, the Supreme Court said it will not expedite a ruling on Chump’s immunity claim which has paused the case thus far.   It was supposed to get under way in March, but now that date is in peril.    This cowardly act by the “Extreme” Court is reported online in The Washington Post by Robert Barnes in his article entitled “Supreme Court won’t expedite ruling on Trump’s immunity claim.”

The court’s one-sentence order offered no explanation for turning down special counsel Jack Smith’s request for an expedited review, which he said was needed to keep Chump’s election-obstruction trial on track for early March.    On the surface, the order can be seen as, at least, a limited and temporary win for the Orange Ogre, who has actively worked to delay the legal proceedings against him as he campaigns again for the repugnican presidential nomination.  

The issue of presidential immunity will likely return to the Extreme Court, but not before a federal appeals court in Washington reviews a district judge’s ruling earlier this month that flatly rejected the Orange Ogre’s claims.    That court has expedited its proceedings and will hold arguments on January 9.

The special counsel had argued, now unsuccessfully, that since only the Supreme Court can definitely answer the question of a chief executive’s immunity for actions taken while in office, the justices should act immediately.  

“Whether a former President of the United States enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for a conspiracy to overturn an election, and thereby prevent the lawful winner from taking office, is an issue of great constitutional moment,” Smith said in his filing.  He added, “This Court’s immediate review of that question is the only way to achieve its timely and definitive resolution.”

While it is relatively rare for the justices to accept a case before an appeals court has reviewed it, Smith noted that the court has done it before in important cases.   One such case was another test of presidential power.

In 1974’s U.S. v. Nixon, the court took up and decided within weeks the question of whether President Richard M. Nixon had the right to withhold subpoenaed recordings of conversations in the White House.   The ruling which ordered Nixon to turn over the recordings led to his resignation in the wake of this unanimous decision.  

Unfortunately, in Chump’s case, we have a much more illegitimate court with sterling characters as Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito who have distinguished themselves with the acrid tinge of corruption, plus three other appointees of the Orange Ogre:   Brett Cavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett.   They don’t come any more conservative than these numnuts.    The members of the Supreme Court during Nixon’s tenure in office were a more balanced bunch of jurists, men like Chief Justice Warren Burger, Justices Potter Stewart, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis F. Powell, Jr.   Of course, there were no women sitting on the court way back in 1974.  

So now we definitely know the Extreme Court is in no hurry to take charge of the nation’s political and legal morass with the Donald J. Chump situation, despite the urgency indicated by their reaching a decision before the damn 2024 presidential election.   Here they could have seized the moment as their stature continues to shrink with the American people who have very little confidence in this body anymore – I among them.   The controversy surrounding two of the justices is appalling and there is no indication that this situation will improve with no ethics standards imposed on them by Congress.  The Gallup organization has reported in September that public approval for the court remains at record lows, and for good reason.  Separately, Gallup found that less than half of Americans say they have “a great deal” or even “a fair amount” of trust and confidence in the court.

Of course, Chump’s lawyers now contend that Smith wants quick action because of the 2o24 election cycle and argue that the special counsel would force the justices to engage in partisan politics.   What a specious argument, in my opinion.  The very nature of the allegations against Chump beg for a quick resolution so that his trials can go on as scheduled.  He knows he’s guilty, that simple! 

In a related online article, New York is now joining the bandwagon to disqualify an insurrectionist from running in New York as an article in News 8 WROC by Jamie DeLine entitled “NY bill aims to remove insurrectionists from presidential ballot.”

Thus a new bill would authorize the board of elections, or the attorney general in the case of a deadlock, to remove an insurrectionist from the presidential ballot.  The legislation is sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. 

“The constitution is very clear,” Dinowitz said.  He continues, “The 14th amendment, 3rd section talks about people who commit insurrection to not be able to run for office.”

Unbelievingly, but not unsurprisingly, the principal architect behind the January 6, 2021, insurrection, Donald J. Frump denied the very thing on his social media platform: ”I’m not an insurrectionist.”  Oh, and he also doesn’t use hair dye on his combed-over hair!

As would be expected, Republicans object to this action by the Colorado Supreme Court as heard in this statement by Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt who said, “Whether you like Donald Trump or hate him, the right to approve or disapprove of candidates should lie solely with the voters. . . . The only real threat to Democracy is the continued poisoning of our Judicial process by power hungry politicians and activist judges.”  Just what a Trumpikin (my new reference to repugnicans) would say, in my opinion.   Don’t you love his use of “poisoning our Judicial process,” blah, blah?    It would appear he got this phrase from the Dear Leader in his recent disgusting comments about illegal immigrants. 

In discussing the Attorney General’s role here in taking Frump off the ballot, especially since it is her office that is currently suing him, Dinowitz said, “The court cases aren’t personal.   They are not her court cases.  She represents the State of New York.”

The only excitement experienced today was my witnessing a thwarted robbery of a local CVS store on Queens Boulevard as I waited on line to buy breath mints.   I couldn’t believe my eyes when the scene unfolding in front of me turned out to be a botched robbery, as the thief was seen putting bags of snacks in a bag without paying for them, and a heavy-set security person taking out the bags and tussling with the thug.    Thank God the thief didn’t have a weapon on him, but he did hit the guard on the head with something I couldn’t identify.   He ran out of the store before anyone could go after him.    One of the cashiers asked the guard if he was all right, and he answered in the affirmative.   When I retuned home, I told Elliot about the incident, and he said I was lucky that the guy wasn’t armed.  Who knows what he could have done if he had been armed and wanted to rush out of there with his ill-gotten gains?    Though I wasn’t that near to the two figures at the front of the store.  So now we don’t have to wonder anymore why everything is behind glass cases these days where you have to press a button to get assistance to get a tube of toothpaste.   Mostly everything is locked up now and we can thank the epidemic of robberies for this change in displaying items on the shelves.  But I was fine after the incident, just a little shaken.

It’s time to wish everyone a nice weekend.  

Tomorrow will be my last entry since Elliot and I are driving to Easton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, December 24, to “Ralph” and “Sandy” to share the holiday with them.  We return to New York on Tuesday, December 26.   Last year we didn’t go because of the severe cold that gripped the entire Northeast region through Christmas. 

Stay safe and be well.