Donald Trump has no immunity from prosecution for trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s opinion on this question, handed down on Tuesday, is as firm and forceful as the former president’s claims are frivolous. That ought to be the end of the matter, and the Supreme Court now has a chance to say so.
A bipartisan panel took almost a month to produce this week’s decision. But, when the three judges finally produced their ruling, they did so per curiam — with a single voice. This choice, from two judges appointed by President Biden and another by George H.W. Bush, not only emphasizes the solidity of the legal reasoning; it also makes it unlikely Mr. Trump will persuade the full appeals court to hear the case, should his lawyers ask. His only remaining option is to apply to the Supreme Court by a Monday deadline the D.C. Circuit has imposed. The justices will then determine whether to take up his petition — and, in so doing, further delay Mr. Trump’s trial for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, which U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan had scheduled to begin early next month in D.C. but postponed pending resolution of this issue.
