Maggie Haberman Says Trump ‘Very Angry’ His Justices Haven’t Sided With Him — ‘Not Optimistic’ About Criminal Immunity Case
New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman said ex-President Donald Trump is “very angry” the Supreme Court justices he appointed haven’t sided with him on election issues, and is “not optimistic” his criminal immunity argument will prevail.
Trump appointed three of the nine Supreme Court justices — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — more than any other president. But that same court shot his 2020 election challenges down one by one. Now they will decide on several key issues affecting Trump, including his assertion of “absolute immunity” for Jan. 6.
They’ll also face the issue that Trump has now been banned from Republican presidential primary ballots in two states — Colorado and Maine — on the grounds that he violated the 14th Amendment by engaging in insurrection on January 6.
On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Haberman gave host Anderson Cooper her insights into Trumpworld’s attitude about the Court, saying they’re not very high on the immunity case but much more confident about the 14th amendment issue:
COOPER: Maggie, how much do you think the former president is betting on favorable Supreme Court intervention? Whether it’s the issue of ballot qualification or immunity from prosecution.
MAGGIE HABERMAN: I think those are different cases. I don’t think that his folks are — or he are particularly optimistic that they’re going to win on the presidential immunity. Although as you said and reported earlier that he is going to show up next week for arguments that he’s not going to be able to be part of, but he will be there, and it will create a spectacle certainly.
On this question, which is a separate one, his team feels more confident that the Supreme Court is going to go with him. He has said that himself, but he has also said to other people, and one of his lawyers confirmed this reporting earlier today. He has said to some people he’s concerned that the justices, who he appointed, are going to be afraid of looking like they’re taking his side politically and not doing that.
And some of that is because he has been very angry, as you know, at the justices he appointed that they haven’t gone his way. They’ve gone his way on policy matters on a number of cases. They have not on his election-related cases.
COOPER: Why is he going to show up? And is it simply because it will create a spectacle?
HABERMAN: Number one, number two, he sees himself as his own best defender and communicator right now. And he believes that he can impact all of these things best. And that he hasn’t tried as has been described to me by people who have spoken to him on this particular issue that he will regret it if it doesn’t go his way.
COOPER: Will he — I mean, he can also fund-raise obviously.
HABERMAN: He fund-raise off everything. He fund-raises on everything. This, I suspect, will not be an exception.
Watch above via Anderson Cooper 360.
