Jonathan Turley Profile picture
Feb 6, 2024 8 tweets 2 min read Read on X
In a 57-page opinion, the D.C. Circuit has rejected, as expected, former President Donald Trump's sweeping immunity claim. Many of us anticipated this result. Here is the opinion storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
...Notably, the panel rejected the claim of many critics that there should be no appellate review. However, it categorically rejects the claim of Trump that he is entitled to immunity as a private citizen...
...The question is now whether Smith will again seek to curtail the time or options for Trump in appealing this decision. Trump has weeks to file for a full en banc review. He was previously unsuccessful in that effort with the Supreme Court.
...Crunching the numbers, Trump can seek corrections in the short term but, even without a correction to the opinion, he has 45 days to seek an en banc where the government is a party. He then has 90 days after the rejected of any en banc decision. ...
...So, even without factoring in review time for the circuit, Trump could extend this process 135 days absent a successful move to expedite. The 90 day period alone would put a petition into May. Any rejection of appeals, without an expedited calendar, puts this into the summer...
...That is without delays or a successful grant on by the D.C. Circuit (unlikely) or the Supreme Court (uncertain). After that appellate line is tied off, the parties would have to return to the trial court to resume the pre-trial work, which could take months. That puts the trial very close to the election and would raise obvious concerns given the long-standing DOJ policy to avoid trials with a few months of an election.
...While Smith will likely try again to expedite, the question is why the Supreme Court would suddenly see a need to curtail the time or process when it previously denied such efforts. There is no longer a scheduled trial on the docket and Smith is the prevailing party. That is not ideal for a motion to expedite further appeals.
...Notably, in a footnote at the end of the decision, the panel declines look at the merits of the threshold challenge that "the appointment of Special Counsel Smith is invalid because (1) no statute authorizes the position Smith occupies and (2) the Special Counsel is a principal officer who must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate."

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More from @JonathanTurley

Oct 16
...The indictment recounts numerous alleged incidents of transmitting classified information to third parties as opposed to the removal of actual documents. Notably, Count 6 is described as the revelation of “intelligence concerning a foreign country’s interactions with an adversary; in quotation marks direct statement collected via intelligence source and methods on a foreign country.” This was allegedly Top secret information. It allegedly included foreign intelligence describing an adversary’s planned attack on a facility.”
...Count 9 is described as Av2 “reveals intelligence about future attack by adversarial group in another country.” It is rated at Top Secret/SI. Count 11 “reveals intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future.” Others concern covert programs by the U.S...
Read 5 tweets
Oct 16
John Bolton is now reportedly indicted by a Maryland grand jury. The sealed indictment is believed to be based on his possession of classified documents...
...Fox is reporting 18 counts against Bolton.
Obviously, Maryland is a favorable jury pool, and Bolton may be comforted by the assignment of an Obama appointee as the judge. However, those can be superficial takes. Possession and mishandling claims can be viewed by jurors as cut-and-dry questions...
Read 8 tweets
Oct 6
Larry Snelling, Chicago Police Superintendent, just denied the story on the failure of CPD to assist ICE agents. He states that CPD officers were present. However, there are also recordings of CPD orders not to go to the scene. The question is whether there was a delay in one or more of the calls...
...Those orders told officers to "stay put." There is also a recorded message that “Per the chief of patrol: Clear everybody out, we’re not responding over there." This comes down to the timeline. If these officers were told to stay put, the question is why and for how long...
...The calls indicated that federal officers were in peril. The usual response from law enforcement is overwhelming and immediate. Snelling insists that there are multiple calls that are being conflated. That is a fair point, but the question still remains these recorded calls...
Read 9 tweets
Sep 10
The rising political violence reportedly escalated further today with the reported shooting Charlie Kirk, the executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA). We have been discussing attacks on TPUSA for years on campuses...jonathanturley.org/2025/04/04/lef…
Reports remain sketchy, but Fox is indeed reporting that Kirk was shot... foxnews.com/video/56146159…
...I have a long history with UVU and was even made an honorary faculty member years ago due to that association. It is a great school with a long tradition of fostering civil debate...
Read 6 tweets
Aug 21
There are reports that the New York appellate court has tossed out the absurd civil judgment against Donald Trump. If true, it is great news for the New York court system in regaining some of the credibility lost during this litigation...
...Notably, both AG Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron did their level best to effectively block an appeal by demanding a ridiculous bond. jonathanturley.org/2024/02/21/not…
...Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote that "the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” Bravo
Read 6 tweets
Jul 27
Rep. Jason Crow just went on Fox Sunday and insisted that the lack of Russian collusion is nothing new since members knew about it for years. That is a particularly telling and franking damning statement since figures like Adam Schiff were out spreading the false collusion claims
...Now Sen. Schiff even insisted that he had evidence of collusion after the allegation was rejected by the Special Counsel -- evidence that he never produced and does not appear to exist. jonathanturley.org/2025/07/27/the…
...The mantra in the media and the Democratic Party that there is nothing to see here is predictable but hardly credible.
Read 4 tweets

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