For Immediate Release:
December 20, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
(Montgomery) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall—joined by 18 states—filed a brief in the case United States v. Trump, opposing the Biden Administration’s extraordinary request to short-circuit the normal appellate process and go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court on the question of presidential immunity. Last week, the federal prosecution team, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, asked the high court to expedite review so that the prosecution could try to take former President Donald Trump to trial “as promptly as possible” without going through the normal appellate process. The19-state coalition argues that this unusual request is due to be denied, given the prosecution’s failure to give a legitimate reason for the Court to depart from its standard procedure.
“In November of last year, Joe Biden vowed that Donald Trump would never become president again. Then, in August 2023, more than 30 months after the events alleged in the indictment, the federal government indicted Trump and now seeks to rush him to trial in March 2024. But the former President is entitled to appeal the trial court’s order denying him presidential immunity. Thus, worried about losing his trial date, the special counsel is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to jump into the fray. But he gives no reason why the public interest demands a rushed trial, which suggests the real reason is to swing the presidential election,” stated Attorney General Marshall. “The Court should not play along. As our brief points out, in asking for this extraordinary remedy, without giving any reason for why it is warranted, the special counsel’s petition itself is strong evidence of a political prosecution designed to decide the 2024 election.”
The coalition’s brief argues that the federal government’s petition fails to clear the Supreme Court’s high bar for immediate review because the petition provides no explanation for the prosecution’s urgency. Instead, the petition simply asserts that the Court’s immediate review would permit Trump’s trial to proceed “as promptly as possible.” President Trump’s trial is currently set to begin March 4, 2024, the day before Super Tuesday—the height of the presidential primaries.
Alabama’s brief was joined by attorneys general from Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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