In the wake of the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Fischer v. United States, attorneys for former President Donald Trump have declared that special counsel Jack Smith's case regarding election interference is on the brink of collapse.
The Fischer decision, which curtailed the Biden-Harris Department of Justice's (DOJ) expansive application of an obstruction statute aimed at corporate document shredding, "fatally undermines" two counts and necessitates the dismissal of two others, according to Trump's legal team.
As reported by the Daily Caller, Trump's attorneys have pointed to the Fischer ruling as yet another instance where the Supreme Court has upheld "the rule of law to reject lawfare overreach targeting" Trump. They referenced two other rulings from the past term that dismissed state efforts to remove Trump from the ballot and established that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts performed while in office.
Trump's legal team argued before Judge Tanya Chutkan that, "Under Fischer, the Office may not use the statute as a catchall provision to criminalize otherwise lawful activities selectively mischaracterized as obstructive by those with opposing political views." They further noted that the DOJ has conceded that the Supreme Court ruling has "severely undermined their position" in at least 100 of the 259 Jan. 6 defendants charged or convicted under the obstruction statute.
On Wednesday, Smith submitted a comprehensive motion detailing his evidence against Trump. Despite repeated objections from Trump's attorneys, who claimed the motion was politically motivated and violated standard procedure, Chutkan permitted the filing. The document outlined the prosecutors' reasons for believing their superseding indictment is not affected by the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision.
Trump's attorneys responded on Thursday, accusing prosecutors of using "fanciful and inaccurate language to describe actions by President Trump and his advisers that are subject to Presidential immunity." They stated that Trump will demonstrate in his forthcoming response to the Offices Presidential immunity submission that the challenged conduct, when accurately described and placed in context, "qualifies as official because it was undertaken to ensure the integrity and proper administration of the federal election."
Trump's legal team is slated to respond to Smith's immunity motion by November 7, following a partial approval of their request for an extension by Judge Chutkan. This ongoing legal battle underscores the tension between the conservative perspective, which emphasizes limited government intervention, and the progressive viewpoint, which advocates for broader governmental authority.
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