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

Mar 18
Hillary Clinton is now speaking in Berlin. It has been a love fest for the Clintons. Clinton started by trashing “the government I the United States” as now supporting “autocrats”…
…Clinton immediately turned to the need to control information which “controls what we think.” She insisted that there must be a protection for “facts” : a chilling message from one of the most outspoken champions for censorship and speech regulations.
…Clinton is the perfect personification of the goal to crate “A New World Order: Based on European Values”. It is American values that are a bit more of a challenge for a leader who called on the EU to use the Digital Services Act to censor Americans.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 18
I am in Berlin to speak at the World Forum. I am currently listening to the opening session at a conference pointedly named recently as “A New World Order: European Values”…
Bill and Hillary Clinton were just celebrated as leadership “truly made America great again.” When it comes to free speech, the Clintons certainly represent “European Values” on free speech…
…After Elon Musk bought Twitter and dismantled most of the company’s censorship program, Hillary Clinton turned to Europe and called upon them to use their Digital Services Act to force censorship against Americans…
Read 12 tweets
Mar 18
Many are suggesting that the Biden pardons may now be challenged in light of the disclosures of Biden's use of an autopen.The chances of such challenges succeeding are vanishingly low. Presidents are allowed to use the autopen and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy...
...Many of these were high-profile pardons, including for his own son, that Biden acknowledged publicly. There is also a problem with standing unless the issue comes up in a government effort to indict a recipient. That does not mean that the disclosures are not deeply troubling.
...The account of Speaker Johnson on how Biden seemed unaware of signing a major piece of legislation does suggest the use of a dead-hand power by staffers. In the end, this is the most difficult type of allegation to pursue since the key parties will be unified in claiming full knowledge and approval by the president...
Read 4 tweets
Mar 13
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer declared that Mahmoud Khalil should be released "if the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law." He is mistaken on the standard...facebook.com/senschumer/pos…
...We still do not know what the evidence against Khalil will show on any nexus to Hamas or the Columbia occupation. However, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C) does not require a criminal act. The standard only requires the Sec. Rubio find "reasonable ground to believe" that he could present a "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable"...
...That is a generous standard that invites a heavy degree of deference from the courts. If Khalil helped organize the occupation that led to property damage, it is conduct that could satisfy the standard. Once again, there are clearly weighty free speech issues in such cases...
Read 4 tweets
Mar 9
Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Cal.) gave Shannon Bream one of the most convoluted and conflicted explanations for voting against the Green censure because "he did not engage in violence . . . and I ultimately a supporter of free speech. . . and he had a free speech right."...
...Is that now the standard? You can disrupt joint sessions so long as you do not physically assault the president or others. That would be a crime that is already covered by the criminal code. Censure is about ethical conduct...
...The suggestion that Green had a protected "right of free speech" is ridiculous. Just as the deplatforming speakers in higher education is not protected, it is certainly not a right on the house floor. Green has an unfettered right outside of session...jonathanturley.org/2025/03/07/we-…
Read 7 tweets
Mar 6
Green was censured, but only 9 Democrats joined in the motion. The Democrats then refused to clear the well and disrupted Speaker Johnson's efforts to complete the censure process. The sound you heard was the Democratic party hitting rock bottom in this disgraceful display...
Faced with the first member to be expelled during a joint session address, the Democrats followed a censure over his disruption by disrupting the business of the House. Johnson showed admirable restraint and put the house into recess...
...With this vote and the subsequent protest in the well, the party has cut itself adrift from any principle of decorum or civility. It turns out that only 8 Democrats voted for the motion. Two voted present. Green said he would do it again and the rest of the party supported him
Read 4 tweets

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