EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump’s 2024 Republican primary rival Nikki Haley is backing the Supreme Court’s decision to take up his immunity case and “settle it once and for all,” arguing that commanders-in-chief should not be “entirely immune” from criminal penalties.
“The Supreme Court should take up this question and settle it once and for all. No person should be entirely immune from penalties for crimes committed, not even a president – not Clinton, not Biden, and not Trump,” Haley told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
In a win for the former president, the court agreed to review whether he has immunity from prosecution in the Special Counsel’s federal election interference case. The court, stacked with three justices nominated by Trump, moved to expedite the matter, planning to begin arguments the week of April 22 and producing a ruling by late June. Trump’s criminal trial has been put on hold pending resolution of the matter.
TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO EXTEND DELAY IN ELECTION CASE, CLAIMING PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said former President Donald Trump should not be ‘entirely immune’ from criminal accusations (Getty Images)
Sen. Ron Johnson R-Wis., applauded the development, telling Fox News Digital, “The fact that the Supreme Court took it up is pretty telling.”
Discussing the delay in Trump’s federal election interference case as a result, Johnson claimed, “I think these very partisan prosecutions, that’s what they’re designed to do.” The Supreme Court’s agreement to hear the appeal is likely to push Trump’s federal trial into the late summer or early fall, not far from the November presidential election.
“They are election interference to a far greater extent than anything Russia or China ever could hope to accomplish,” he continued.
The senator was hopeful the court’s choice signaled some resistance to the “election interference,” but noted, “We’ll see how the Supreme Court rules.”
Trump foes, meanwhile, criticized the Supreme Court for being willing to hear the case.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., claimed the court is “placing itself on trial” with the decision and questioned “whether the justices will uphold the fundamental American value that no one is above the law – not even a former president.”
Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., also slammed the court’s plan to review Trump’s claim of presidential immunity. “Delaying the January 6 trial suppresses critical evidence that Americans deserve to hear,” she wrote on X.
TRUMP TRIAL DELAYED IN CASE STEMMING FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S JAN. 6 INVESTIGATION
Former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized the Supreme Court’s decision (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Donald Trump attempted to overturn an election and seize power. Our justice system must be able to bring him to trial before the next election. SCOTUS should decide this case promptly,” she added.
Cheney was a part of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack before her House term ended. She ran for reelection but was defeated in her Republican primary by Rep. Harriet Hageman. R-Wyo.
An impeachment manager for Trump’s second impeachment trial, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., predicted the Supreme Court taking up the case could help guarantee a “blue wave” in November.
Ex-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the decision will delay Trump’s trial (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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“My view of the SCOTUS action: if the trial is delayed until after November, we will see THE LARGEST BLUE WAVE IN HISTORY,” Lieu wrote on X. “If November becomes a referendum on whether Trump faces justice, then Democrats will absolutely flip the House. keep the White House and expand the Senate.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said on the social media platform that the Supreme Court decision will “help Donald Trump run out the clock and avoid justice.”
