OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
As the number of federal cases against Donald Trump is growing, members of Congress and the former president’s attorneys want the nation’s highest court to weigh in.
Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States, a group of 18 federal judges headed by Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court. The letter asks the conference to act and permit televised coverage of Trump’s most recent case involving his alleged participation in the riot that broke out at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which happened after his loss in the 2020 election, according to Newsweek
“As the policymaking body for the federal courts, the Judicial Conference has historically supported increased transparency and public access to the courts’ activities,” the letter said, according to the outlet. “Given the historic nature of the charges brought forth in these cases, it is hard to imagine a more powerful circumstance for televised proceedings.
“If the public is to fully accept the outcome, it will be vitally important for it to witness, as directly as possible, how the trials are conducted, the strength of the evidence adduced, and the credibility of witnesses,” the letter added.
But Trump is seeking high court intervention for a different reason: He wants justices to stop the trials from happening at all.
Trump responded by vehemently criticizing the criminal charges he faces, which include two new federal charges consisting of a pair of obstruction counts and individual counts of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy against Constitutional rights.
Describing the allegations as a feeble attempt by President Joe Biden to undermine his potential 2024 campaign, Trump wants the conservative majority on the court, which he helped put in place, to support his case.
“CRAZY! My political opponent has hit me with a barrage of weak lawsuits, including D.A., A.G., and others, which require massive amounts of my time & money to adjudicate,” he wrote on the platform.
“Resources that would have gone into Ads and Rallies, will now have to be spent fighting these Radical Left Thugs in numerous courts throughout the Country. I am leading in all Polls, including against Crooked Joe, but this is not a level playing field. It is Election Interference, & the Supreme Court must intercede. MAGA!” he added.
Recent election finance reports reveal that Trump’s campaign has faced significant financial strain due to the mounting legal cases against him as he combats 78 criminal charges spanning three jurisdictions. The charges range from obstruction of justice to willful retention of national defense data and falsifying business records.
The Supreme Court has been asked to intervene in a Trump-related case already.
In October of last year, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) requested the court’s intervention following a lower federal court’s order for him to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia. The grand jury was investigating whether Trump had attempted to unlawfully pressure state election officials to overturn the election, potentially leading to additional charges in the near future.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas subsequently granted Graham’s request, albeit temporarily.
Regarding the Georgia case, a legal analyst and expert for CNN made a startling prediction during a network segment on Thursday.
Elie Honig called out Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for “intermixing” politics with her prosecution of the former president for allegedly interfering in the state’s electoral processes following his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
At one point, Honig praised the DA: “Willis has a really impressive and distinguished history as a prosecutor. She has prosecuted all sorts of cases. She has done, by and large, a very good job.”
But then he pivoted: “But I have to point out she has intermixed her own political fortunes with this case in a way that I think is going to backfire because significantly against her.”
