A conviction of former President Donald Trump sways the 2024 election in President Joe Biden’s favor, a Saturday poll showed, as Special Counsel Jack Smith pulls out all the stops to put Trump on trial in early 2024.
Smith, seeking to speed up the trial process ahead of a contentious presidential race, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to consider Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in the 2020 election interference case before a decision is reached in the appeals court. The trial date is currently set for March 4, just the day before Super Tuesday, when over a dozen states will hold their 2024 presidential nominating contests.
A Wall Street Journal survey found Biden would win a hypothetical 2024 rematch against Trump 46% to 45% if the former president were convicted of a felony in either of Smith’s probes. Conversely, the same poll indicated Trump, who holds a massive lead over the rest of the Republican presidential primary field, would beat Biden by four points in a head-to-head race without the condition of a possible conviction. (RELATED: Trump Might Just Enter 2024 Election Unscathed As Court Dates Are Delayed, Legal Attacks Falter)
In early October, Trump moved to dismiss the 2020 election interference case on the basis of presidential immunity, with his lawyers arguing his actions, including making public statements and communicating with state legislators, Congress members and the Department of Justice, were taken within the scope of his official duties. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan declined Trump’s request on Dec. 1, prompting the former president to appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected,” Smith wrote to the Supreme Court Monday.
A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign slammed Smith’s request on Monday, arguing the prosecution is “politically motivated.”
“Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith is so obsessed with interfering in the 2024 Presidential Election with the goal of preventing President Trump from retaking the Oval Office, as the President is poised to do, that Smith is willing to try for a Hail Mary by racing to the Supreme Court and attempting to bypass the appellate process,” the spokesperson said.. “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 7: Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs for lunch and speaks to the media during his trial in New York State Supreme Court. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Legal experts have characterized Smith’s move as seeking to keep the trial date in place to provide ample time for a possible conviction ahead of a potential rematch between Trump and Biden next fall.
“Special Counsel Jack Smith is now seeking to leapfrog the appellate court and ask for a ruling from the Supreme Court on Trump’s immunity claims. The only reason for this petition is to seek to guarantee a trial of Trump (and possible conviction) before the election,” George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley wrote on Twitter Monday. “The matter is currently before the D.C. Circuit which is viewed as a favorable court for Smith. However, Smith is trying to avoid any delay in the March trial date.”
A spokesperson for Smith pointed the Daily Caller News Foundation toward the special counsel’s early November response to Trump’s motion to dismiss the case, and declined to comment further.
“The Special Counsel and career prosecutors in the Special Counsel’s Office collectively have served in the Department of Justice for decades. They have sworn oaths to support and defend the Constitution, and they have faithfully executed their prosecutorial duties in this case,” Smith wrote. “Consistent with the Department’s best traditions and the Principles of Federal Prosecution, Justice Manual, § 9-27.000, the indictment in this case is the result of a thorough and impartial investigation guided by the facts and applicable law, and it was returned by a grand jury of citizens in this District empaneled by the district court.”
The WSJ poll found that if Biden were impeached by the House in its investigation into the president’s involvement with his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings, Trump would win the election 46% to 41% in a head-to-head matchup.
The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican and Democratic primary, based on the most recent polling, indicates Trump and Biden are leading their respective fields with 60.3% and 68% support, respectively. Trump is currently leading Biden for a hypothetical matchup by 2.2 points in the RCP average.
The WSJ survey polled 1,500 registered voters nationwide from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%.
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
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