In a lengthy and crucial exchange between Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the Justice Department’s Michael Dreeben, the Supreme Court heard how Trump’s case could see a path to trial this year.
Barrett sketched out that the case could go to trial, and how, if the Supreme Court sends it back to the trial level, it could be heard by a jury without further appeals court involvement.
That would mean no further delays in Donald Trump’s case before a trial, once the Supreme Court rules.
“The special counsel has expressed some concern for speed,” Barrett said.
She asked Dreeben if the trial-level could sort out what’s official or private acts of the presidency in this key, or is there “another option for the special counsel just to proceed on the private conduct?”
Dreeben told her the indictment is substantially about private conduct. He says the special counsel’s office would like to present a full picture of the allegations to the jury.
But in Trump’s legal world, leaving determinations about his allegations in the case could be disastrous before the election, according to polls as well as the jury pool makeup in Washington, DC.