‘One Vote Away From The End Of Democracy’: MSNBC Legal Analyst Gives Grim Explanation of Trump’s SCOTUS Immunity Case

MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann claimed former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court immunity case could have a dramatic impact on American democracy.

The Republican nominee’s legal team is currently arguing before the Supreme Court that Trump should not be prosecuted on charges he committed while he was in office. The appeal has significantly delayed his D.C. criminal trial, which is being led by special prosecutor Jack Smith.

During oral arguments earlier this week, some justices appeared inclined to hear out Trump’s claim of immunity and potentially send the decision back to the lower courts, delaying the trial even further.

Weissmann told MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki on Sunday that the country is “one vote away from the end of democracy.”

I think that it’s important to remember that at the outset, the court had already given Donald Trump the win that he was seeking, which is the delay of the DC trial.

So going into this, this was all upside for him. I mean, I think he had to be thinking, I’m making this really outlandish argument, with ramifications that couldn’t possibly be squared with the text and history. The text of the Constitution or the history of the presidency? So it’s all upside if the court would actually bite on this. And so what was surprising is that there were justices who actually were taking this seriously. And it just was, frankly, shocking.

Remember, going into this, the given was that private conduct was certainly not, immunized from criminal liability. What everyone’s talking about now is, hey, maybe they think that some of this is private and they can go forward, but that was what was given going into this. And the reason people are thinking that is because there seem to be four justices who were really taking Donald Trump’s claim of criminal immunity seriously. And we are.

I mean, I know it sounds like hyperbole, but I think your opening is so correct that we are essentially, as Neil put it, one vote away from sort of the end of democracy as we know it with checks and balances. And to say it’s an imperial presidency that would be created is, it’s frankly saying it would be a king, he would be criminally immune. And that that is what is so shocking is how close we are.

And we are really on the razor’s edge of that kind of result. But for the chief justice.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.