Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said on Wednesday that the former president is worried about the Supreme Court ruling on his presidential immunity claim in his federal election subversion case.
Trump, front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary race, awaits an appeals court ruling on whether he has presidential immunity protection in his election interference case in Washington, D.C. The argument, however, is expected to end up in the Supreme Court.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has led the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, accusing Trump of attempting to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has claimed the election was stolen via widespread voter fraud despite a lack of evidence.
The DOJ charged Trump with counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights in connection to the investigation, with a focus on the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol and accusations of a plot to submit false slates of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes. He has argued presidential immunity would shield him from being tried for these charges, though critics argue he was not acting in his official capacity at the time.
In an interview with Fox News Wednesday, Habba, speaking to host Martha MacCallum, said that Trump is scared that the Supreme Court will rule against him on his presidential immunity claim.
Ex-President Donald Trump, center, sits at the defense table flanked by attorneys Christopher Kise, left, and Alina Habba, right, during his civil fraud trial in New York City on December 7, 2023. Habba on Wednesday said Trump is worried about the Supreme Court ruling on his presidential immunity claim in his federal election subversion case.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / POOL / AFP/Getty Images
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment on Wednesday.
Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for The New York Times earlier remarked to CNN that Trump has concerns the justices he appointed don’t want to be seen ruling in his favor. Habba confirmed those worries.
“That’s a concern he’s voiced to me, he’s voiced to everyone publicly, not privately. I can tell you his concern is a valid one, you know, Republicans are conservative. They get nervous. They, unfortunately, are—sometimes shy away from being pro-Trump because they feel that even if the law is on our side, they might be swayed, much like the Democratic side, right?” Habba said.
“So, sometimes they’re trying to look so neutral that they make the wrong call. And I really encourage them to look at the law and look at the Constitution. It’s just a simple decision and it should have nothing to do with whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Habba added.
Habba’s comments on Trump arrived after Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman predicted on Wednesday in an opinion piece published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Supreme Court would not give Trump the ruling that he wants.
In the Journal-Constitution, Akerman argued that if the appellate court rules against Trump and he appeals, the high court would decline to hear his case. Akerman is a former assistant special Watergate prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“My New Year’s prediction: The Supreme Court will refuse to hear Mr. Trump’s inevitable appeal from the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finding that presidential immunity does not apply to Mr. Trump’s alleged criminal acts arising out of the Jan. 6th insurrection. The criminal prosecution against Mr. Trump will proceed to trial in March,” he wrote.
Trump’s federal election trial is set to begin March 4, but legal analysts have suggested he may be trying to delay it until after the presidential election. If Trump wins in November, he would have authority to either pardon himself or instruct the DOJ to drop charges against him.
“Presidential immunity is simply not a controversy the Supreme Court needs, or in which it should want to partake, thereby permitting the criminal trial of Mr. Trump to proceed as scheduled without the indeterminable delay he hopes to achieve,” Akerman wrote.
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