The Daily Fuckup

On Feb. 21, 2024, Donald Trump was still waiting for the Supreme Court to act on his emergency stay application in the federal election-interference immunity case. The filing went in on Feb. 12 and asked the justices to pause the D.C. Circuit’s mandate while he pursued further review of the immunity question. By Feb. 21, the court had not yet ruled, so the application remained pending.

That procedural step mattered because it was aimed at keeping the case from moving forward while Trump pressed the argument that a former president can be shielded from criminal prosecution for conduct tied to official acts. In practical terms, his lawyers were trying to stop the lower-court clock long enough for the Supreme Court to consider the broader immunity dispute. Prosecutors wanted the opposite: no further delay.

The status on Feb. 21 was therefore narrow but important. The court had not decided the merits of the immunity claim, and it had not yet decided whether to hold the lower court’s mandate in place. What was clear from the docket was simpler: the stay request was still alive, and the election case was still on hold at the high court while Trump sought relief.

The same month had already brought Trump before the justices in a separate election-related case over Colorado ballot access, adding another layer to the legal pressure around his campaign. But that earlier argument session did not change the posture of the immunity fight. As of Feb. 21, the only accurate description was that the Supreme Court had not yet answered the stay request tied to Trump’s immunity appeal.