The Daily Fuckup

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office asked the Supreme Court on April 8 to reject Donald Trump’s claim that he cannot be criminally prosecuted for conduct tied to the aftermath of the 2020 election. The filing is the government’s latest step in a case that has already been slowed by repeated appeals over presidential immunity, and it sets up a direct fight over how much protection, if any, a former president gets from criminal charges based on conduct during and after his time in office.

In the brief, prosecutors argued that the indictment does not turn on core presidential duties protected by the Constitution. They said much of the alleged conduct was private and political rather than official, and they urged the justices not to adopt a broad immunity rule that would halt the prosecution. The government’s position is that the case can be resolved without treating the presidency as a shield for all conduct connected to a president’s time in office.

The filing also seeks to keep the case focused on the charges themselves rather than on a sweeping theory of executive power. Prosecutors said Trump’s arguments go too far in trying to convert a criminal case into a constitutional dispute about the office of the presidency. Their brief says the lower court should be allowed to continue with the case while the Supreme Court sorts out the immunity question.

The timing matters because the Supreme Court had already scheduled oral arguments in the immunity fight for April 25. If the justices side with the government, the prosecution could resume without another major procedural roadblock. If they accept Trump’s view, the case could face another significant delay while the courts work through the scope of presidential immunity. For now, the Justice Department is asking the court for a narrower reading: no sweeping immunity, no automatic protection for political conduct, and no halt to the case just because Trump once held the presidency.