Elie Honig Says Jack Smith’s Request to Supreme Court Is His ‘Only Chance at Keeping This Case on Track’

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said not only was Jack Smith smart to take the issue of Donald Trump’s alleged immunity directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, it was his only option to keep the election interference case on track for a March trial date.

Trump’s lawyers argue their client is immune from prosecution because his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election fell within the scope of his duties as president. A federal judge has already ruled against Trump, who is appealing. Smith is seeking to bypass the appeals court by securing an expedited ruling from the Supreme Court.

Honig appeared on The Lead on Monday.

Jake Tapper asked him, “Do you think this was a smart move by the special counsel to try to speed up a decision right now?”

“I do think is a smart move, Jake. I think it’s a necessary move, in fact. Because this is, as a practical matter, this only real way Jack Smith can hold onto his current trial date, which is March 4th, 2024,” Honig said, continuing:

Jack Smith has won this case in the district court. Now, ordinarily, Donald Trump would get to appeal to the court of appeals in the D.C. Circuit. That would take weeks, even a couple of months. If Donald Trump lost there, he could then ask the court of appeals to re-hear the case, what we call, “on bank,” meaning the entire court of appeals tack on another several weeks, maybe months, and only then would the Supreme Court even began its review.

So, there’s really just no way to get all that done between now and March 4th, which isn’t that far away. And, so, he’s looking to skip the middleman and take it right to the Supreme Court. I think it’s his only chance of keeping this case on track.

Honig said he believed the Supreme Court will take the case directly.

“This is an unusual procedure, but it does happen sometimes. And if we look at recent examples, it’s actually happened a couple of times just in the last year or so,” he said.

“So, the question the Supreme Court’s going to be asking is, A, how important is this case, and B, how time sensitive is it?”

Honig noted that it’s a 6-3 conservative court, but that they have ruled against Trump in the past, so it’s anybody’s guess how the case would go.

Trump has argued that he was immune from prosecution from any potentially criminal acts he committed while in the White House. He faces 13 charges in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn his election loss against Joe Biden.

Watch the clip above via CNN.