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  • 🇺🇸 Smith's SCOTUS Strategy

🇺🇸 Smith's SCOTUS Strategy

Plus, "Rare" Jordans.

December 14, 2023

The Flag

Good morning, and happy Thursday. In one of the last great African wildernesses, the scimitar-horned oryx, previously declared extinct in the wild, is now classified only as endangered.

Plus, an Oregon shelter is auctioning off rare $10K gold Air Jordan 3 sneakers that were randomly discovered in its donation bin.

Also, check out this investment report as we head into 2024. This link is a one-click sign-up to make it easy to grab your copy today.

Right: NewsGuard Further Exposed For Corrupt, Left Wing Bias, Joseph Vazquez, Media Research Center

Right:  The 1972 Insurrection: When the Left Took Over, Newt Gingrich, American Spectator

Left: For Haley, Path to GOP Nomination Runs Through NH, Emma Platoff, Boston Globe

Left: Harvard Is Right To Back Its President, Jill Filipovic, CNN

QUICK CLICKS

Hunter Defies Subpoena,

US: Hunter Biden defies House Republican's subpoena that he testify in private (NBC News)

US: Javier Milei, newly elected Argentinian president, begins 'shock therapy' by devaluing peso against dollar (FOX News)

US: Supreme Court agrees to hear high-stakes dispute over abortion pill (CBS News)

US: 2 men charged in 'killing spree' of over 3,000 birds, including bald eagles, in Montana (NBC News)

US: 7 students ate gummy bears from a baggie that tested positive for fentanyl and fell sick. Now 2 people have been arrested (CNN)

World: Climate talks end on a first-ever call for the world to move away from fossil fuels (NPR)

World: Eight years of conservative rule in Poland ends as Donald Tusk becomes prime minister (AP)

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JUSTICE

Smith’s SCOTUS Strategy

On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith appealed to the Supreme Court to determine whether Former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for crimes he allegedly committed while in office. This marks the first time that the high court will be involved in the prosecution of a former president.

Reporting from the Right: Special counsel Jack Smith calls on Supreme Court to rule on Trump immunity claim (FOX News)

Reporting from the Left: Special counsel goes directly to Supreme Court to resolve whether Trump has immunity from prosecution (CNN)

From The Flag: Smith is making an unusual request to ensure Trump’s election subversion trial, which is slated for early March, stays on course. To achieve this, Smith is urging the Supreme Court to bypass the standard procedure of going through a federal appeals court and instead quickly address a crucial aspect of the case against Trump.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Dangerous Precedent

  • As it becomes increasingly clear that Trump is going to be the Republican nominee, Smith is rushing to push the trial forward.

  • “You don’t have to support Trump to worry that the criminal charges against him will set a dangerous, norm-breaking precedent.”

  • “Smith and his team are doing everything in their power to quickly get to the end zone, so he can begin Trump’s trial for trying to overturn an election on its scheduled March date.”

As Trump lead widens, prosecutors step up pursuit, Byron York, Washington Examiner: “Two things are true today. One, former President Donald Trump's polling, nationally, in key swing states, and in the first-voting state of Iowa, has never been better. And two, Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by the Biden Justice Department to prosecute Trump, is taking self-described "extraordinary" measures in a rush to put Trump on trial before the 2024 presidential election. The two things are not unrelated. And nothing could more effectively illustrate the contrast between Trump's rising political fortunes and the administration's effort to imprison him before the election. … As far as Jack Smith is concerned, a normal Supreme Court appeals process would mess everything up. Trial could not start on March 4, there would be no verdict in May, and Trump would not be in jail by Labor Day. The whole thing might stretch into 2025. So Smith has asked the Supreme Court to jump in and take the appeal directly, skipping the whole court of appeals process.”

The Wages of Prosecuting Presidents over Their Official Acts, Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review: “In my humble opinion, the Supreme Court has never wrestled with this issue because it very rarely comes up in a first-world democratic republic, where the major parties grasp their high interest in not weaponizing law enforcement against rivals. It’s not just that, inevitably, the worm turns. A healthy republic is heavily dependent on the rule of law, a prerequisite for which is the perception of non-partisan evenhandedness — our own constitutional commitment to equal protection of law. The Constitution doesn’t speak directly to this. The high Court’s reasoning in granting presidents immunity from civil suits is derived from separation-of-powers principles and a wider berth for judicial policy-making than we abide today. … This unabashedly discriminatory law enforcement is going to cause blowback. Trump has described himself as the candidate who, if elected, will deliver ‘retribution.’”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Why Jack Smith appealed directly to SCOTUS, with Trump trying to delay case past the election Howard Kurtz, FOX News

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Historical Context Behind This Move

  • Smith's latest Supreme Court strategy takes a move from a Nixon-era playbook, which could stop Trump from pushing his Washington trial beyond Election Day.

  • “If history and precedent is any guide, the former president should not expect respite from the justices.”

  • “The special counsel has substantive and procedural reasons for wanting a quick ruling on whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions as president.”

Jack Smith is fighting Trump's delays with help from a Nixon-era playbook, Michael Conway, MSNBC: “This an uncommon strategy, invoked by the government in United States v. Nixon almost 50 years ago to expedite the appellate timeline. But by following the blueprint used in 1974 by Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski to compel President Richard Nixon to release key White House tapes, Smith could stop Trump from pushing his Washington trial beyond Election Day. On May 20, 1974, a district judge ordered Nixon to comply with the special prosecutor’s subpoena for key White House tape recordings in connection with a criminal trial of six of Nixon’s closest aides. That criminal trial was scheduled to begin in less than four months, on Sept. 9. Four days later, Nixon's lawyers appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. To prevent being bogged down in that court, federal prosecutors petitioned the Supreme Court to bypass the Court of Appeals and rule on Nixon's objections directly. Unlike what Trump would be likely do today, Nixon subsequently asked the Supreme Court to take the appeal directly.”

The Supreme Court Just Got Dragged Into the Trump Trials, Matt Ford, The New Republic: “The standoff over presidential immunity in former President Donald Trump’s criminal cases is now before the Supreme Court. Special counsel Jack Smith filed an accelerated motion before the justices on Monday to ask them to review the matter as quickly as possible. Smith asked the justices to consider two questions: first, whether a former president is “absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office,” and second, whether a former president is “constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin.” … The Supreme Court has previously held that sitting presidents face some degree of immunity from civil litigation while in office. But the federal courts have never extended that to criminal proceedings for former presidents.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The history behind Jack Smith’s Trump-Supreme Court gambit, Aaron Blake, The Washington Post

FLAG THIS

Conviction Could Cost Trump

With four criminal trials pending, a poll suggests that if Trump is convicted of a felony before the election, he may lose significant support. He currently leads Biden by 2 points, with 38% of respondents favoring him and 36% favoring Biden. 31% of Republican respondents also indicated they would not vote for Trump if he was convicted of any crimes (Reuters).

Do you believe any current or former president, including Trump, is immune from prosecution?

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Dear Investor: Some financial analysts foresee a harrowing recession in 2024, injecting fear and urgency into the investment landscape. 

Before you consider selling off everything, consider this vital information... 

Act quickly to secure your future! As a response to the imminent crisis, we're offering a Limited Special Bonus. Upon requesting your report today, you'll receive one bonus as a token of our commitment to your financial security. (One bonus per investor, act now!) 

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WATERCOOLER

USSR Expelled, AI Astrology, Exploding Marshmallows

On This Day in 1939: The League of Nations, the international peacekeeping organization formed at the end of World War I, expels the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in response to the Soviets’ invasion of Finland on November 30.

Today I learned the Royal Air Force banned marshmallow teacakes because they could explode.

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