There are two legitimate ways of looking at the controversy over special counsel Jack Smith's request that the appeals court be skipped and the Supreme Court take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results, Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Monday.
The former New Jersey Superior Court judge said during Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that "one is the court sets the calendar, the government doesn't set it, and it is obvious by running to the Supreme Court and bypassing the appellate court, the government is just interested in a trial at campaign time and hopefully a conviction before Election Day," he said.
But Napolitano acknowledged that a second way of looking at the matter is that "the issue is so profound, so significant to both sides and to the American public."
He explained that, in a nutshell, the issue is, "Can a former president of the United States of America be tried criminally for a crime he allegedly committed while in office, or can the president do whatever he wants in office, even criminal acts, knowing that he can never be prosecuted?"
Napolitano noted that "whichever way the appellate court goes in this, and the trial court ruled against President Trump in that he does not have immunity after he leaves office, he only has immunity while he is in office, that the case will go to the Supreme Court anyway. So Jack Smith's argument is, Why do the unnecessary? Let's just get to the bottom of this right now."
Napolitano pointed out that the other side of the argument is that Smith can be told, "You are just trying to interfere with the election, and why don't you just admit it?"
The Supreme Court is scheduled to make a ruling on Jan. 5 on whether or not it will fast-track the case.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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