The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity Monday made it more difficult for both special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to prosecute former President Donald Trump, throwing their indictments into serious question.
The decision, which found former presidents are entitled to “at least presumptive immunity” from prosecution for all “official acts,” will force Smith to go back to the drawing board as Judge Tanya Chutkan weighs which portions of the indictment fall into that category and are covered by immunity. The process not only means a trial before the election is a virtual impossibility, but paired with another ruling this term on the obstruction statute connected to two charges in the indictment, it likely will leave Smith with little more than a shell of a case.
“I think it could take several months for the trial court to…
