“Respondent agrees that the question whether a former President of the United States enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for a conspiracy to overturn an election, and thereby prevent the lawful winner from taking office, is an issue of great constitutional moment.”

“Respondent’s principal argument in opposition is that the Court should wait. That is incorrect. This Court’s immediate review of that question is the only way to achieve its timely and definitive resolution. The district court has set a March 4, 2024 trial date. Respondent’s interlocutory appeal has resulted in a stay of any proceedings that would move this case towards trial. And while the court of appeals has expedited briefing and argument on respondent’s interlocutory appeal, the time of its final decision is uncertain. Only a grant of certiorari before judgment – a procedure followed in United States v Nixon, and comparably consequential cases – will assure that the Court can hear and resolve the case promptly, and in any event in its current Term,” writes Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s team in a brief to the US Supreme Court in response to Team Orange’s stupid Wednesday brief arguing that all this due process is going too fast for him.

That brief was a bit of a switch from the “full confidence that the US Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor,” that large-headed Trump spokesman Steven Cheung projected on Tuesday immediately after the Colorado state Supreme Court had disqualified Trump for many of the very same acts that Smith is prosecuting him for. Also a shit ton of Trump’s defenders cried that he had been denied due process in that case such as Glenn Greenwald, Nancy Mace, Jeffrey Clark, among others who are curiously not cheering for the speedy application of it on the question of Trump’s presidential immunity claims. They should be excited that there’s a non-zero chance that the Supreme Court could rule in Trump’s favor and remove a major obstacle to his reelection chances.