George Conway and former Trump attorney file Supreme Court brief against immunity claims – Raw Story

A chronicle of Donald Trump's Crimes or Allegations

George Conway and former Trump attorney file Supreme Court brief against immunity claims – Raw Story

A group of former government officials and constitutional lawyers submitted a brief to the Supreme Court of the United States Monday, arguing against the idea that former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution.
The brief responded to a case involving Donald Trump who claims he should be immune from prosecution by United States special counsel Jack Smith. The case is currently under review by the Supreme Court, with hearings set to start April 25.
The group behind the brief includes notable figures such as Fred Wertheimer of the Democracy 21 Education Fund, and Seth P. Waxman of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Former Trump administration legal counsel Ty Cobb and George Conway were also listed.
These "friends of the court" argued that the Constitution does not protect former presidents from criminal prosecution, even for actions taken while in office. They asserted that granting such immunity would undermine the principle that no person is above the law, a fundamental tenet of American democracy.
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"Defendant’s claimed immunity finds no support in the Constitution’s text or historical practice. Nor can it be remotely squared with separation-of-powers principles made explicit in the Executive Vesting Clause and inherent in the structure of the Constitution; to the contrary, it subverts them," the filing said.
The brief meticulously outlined the legal and constitutional bases for their argument. It emphasized that the Constitution's text, history, and the principle of separation of powers do not support the notion of immunity for former presidents. Moreover, it argued that allowing such immunity would severely limit the executive branch's ability to enforce the law and would be contrary to the public interest.
Cobb and Conway have joined forces before in support of Smith's prosecution of Trump.

Former President Donald Trump couldn't convince a judge to push back his criminal hush money trial set to begin on April 15 in New York City, according to new reports.
Judge Lizbeth Gonzalez denied the former president's request to move the venue out of New York City without explanation in a one-sentence order, according to multiple reports.

"Defendant's application for a stay of trial… pending the determination of defendant's motion for change of venue, is denied," reads the ruling shared by Law360 reporter Frank Runyeon..
Trump's lawyers attempted to sway an intermediary appellate court pause the upcoming date suggesting it would be impossible to find an impartial jury.
"In terms of prejudicial pretrial publicity in this county, this case stands alone," wrote defense attorney Emil Bove, arguing there had not been a case with so much attention since the 1999 police killing of Amadou Diallo.
Moreover, the defense submitted that too many people in Manhattan harbor a negative bias against Trump.
Watch CNN's breaking coverage below or click here.

Former President Donald Trump raised eyebrows with a bizarre claim over the weekend apparently suggesting President Joe Biden defecated on the Oval Office desk.
Trump made the comments at his fundraiser over the weekend in Palm Beach, according to the New York Times and Vanity Fair.
"The de facto GOP presidential nominee told a crowd of extremely wealthy guests that Biden had made many bad decisions around the Resolute Desk, which has been used by two dozen US presidents, starting with Rutherford B. Hayes," wrote Vanity Fair's Bess Levin. "'The Resolute Desk is beautiful,' Trump said. 'Ronald Reagan used it, others used it.' Then, according to one attendee who talked to the Times, Trump spoke in reference to Biden: 'And he’s using it. I might not use it the next time. It’s been soiled. And I mean that literally, which is sad.' The person who witnessed the remarks told the Times that guests laughed — and that, per the outlet, 'Trump’s remark was interpreted as the former president saying that Mr. Biden had defecated on the desk.'"
As the report noted, the Trump family has a peculiar history surrounding toilets, with a report in 2021 suggesting former first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner forced the Secret Service to rent out an adjacent $3,000/month studio apartment near their residence to use the toilet, rather than use their own — although the Secret Service denies this was the case.
Trump also often complained about the toilets at the White House, complaining it takes "10 times — 15 times" to flush. This comment triggered an avalanche of new speculation about what exactly he was flushing, after it emerged that he used his personal toilet to destroy documents.
"A Trump campaign official did not address any of the candidate’s specific remarks when asked for comment by the Times, instead pointing to an official readout of the event," the Vanity Fair report noted.
"'Trump spoke on the need to win back the White House so we can turn our country around, focusing on key issues including unleashing energy production, securing our southern border, reducing inflation, extending the Trump tax cuts, eliminating Joe Biden’s insane [electric vehicle] mandate, protecting Israel, and avoiding global war,' a campaign official told NBC News."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion Monday against a review of Judge Scott McAfee's ruling on an ethics complaint related to the case against Donald Trump and others.
Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and others sought a review of the superior court's decision not to dismiss an indictment and to disqualify the district attorney based on a romantic relationship with a member of her staff.
However, in a 19-page motion responding to Trump, Willis argued that the application for review merely shows the former president's dissatisfaction with the trial court's decision.
Willis said the trial court applied the law correctly to the facts.
"Because the applicants have wholly failed to carry their burden of persuasion, this Court should decline interlocutory review," she stated.
Willis emphasized that the trial court found no actual prejudice to the defendants' case or violation of their due process rights. She argued that public comments made by the District Attorney do not constitute forensic misconduct requiring disqualification.
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She concluded by asserting that the defendants had not shown prosecutorial misconduct. She noted that the trial court could not determine that the relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade had any bearing on the case.
"But the trial court went even a step further, finding that it could not determine, based on the evidence, when the relationship between the District Attorney and Wade evolved into a romantic one…. Even assuming … that Wade’s continued involvement in the prosecution would have produced an appearance of impropriety, the trial court allowed for his withdrawal… This Court has sanctioned this same remedy as a cure for the potential appearance of impropriety."
"Setting aside whether Wade’s removal from the case was, in fact, necessary, he withdrew from representation hours after the trial court issued its order, and the District Attorney accepted the resignation… Accordingly, the trial court properly exercised its discretion and inherent authority in denying the motion to disqualify based on the appearance of impropriety, and there is no basis to grant interlocutory review on this ground," Willis wrote.
"The applicants having failed to carry their burden as to their request for interlocutory review, the State of Georgia submits this Honorable Court should DENY this application."
Trump asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the case last month.
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