A Supreme Court case could deal a blow to the special counsel in the 45th president’s federal election-related case
Some legal experts say that a pending case in the U.S. Supreme Court could upend special counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Donald Trump, coming as the high court set a date for oral arguments in the case.
Last week, the Supreme Court set an April 16 date for arguments in a case involving a Jan. 6, 2021, defendant Joseph Fischer. Namely, the court will hear a challenge to the Department of Justice’s reading of “obstruction of an official proceeding” charge that both Mr. Fischer and President Trump are facing, although the former president is facing two separate charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy against rights.
Legal analyst Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor with George Washington University, said Saturday that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the defendant, it will represent a major win for President Trump and will make things harder for the special counsel.
“There’s a centrally important case in the Supreme Court where the Court’s going to decide whether the core of Jack Smith’s charges involving obstruction of justice are consistent with Constitution and the law or not,” he told CNN. “If they throw those out, that’s going to be a stake in the heart of the Jack Smith case. It won’t prevent it, but it’ll make it much harder to pursue.”
Elaborating, he said the timing of Mr. Smith’s case could also be upended.
“The Jack Smith timing depends on, first, what the Supreme Court does—is it going to rehear immunity or just uphold the D.C. circuit?” Mr. Rosen said. “But then next month there’s a centrally important case in the Supreme court where the court’s going to decide whether the core of Jack Smith’s charges involving obstruction of justice are consistent with the Constitution and the law or not.”
He added that Should the Supreme Court “side with Fischer, it would also call into question the use of the law against other Jan. 6 defendants—including Trump.”
