Donald Trump’s lawyers are considering taking the question of presidential immunity in the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit to the Supreme Court, asking an appeals court Thursday for the trial to be pushed back so they can weigh other legal options.
Trump lawyers Michael Madaio and Alina Habba requested a 90-day stay, arguing in a filing to the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the delay is necessary to allow him to “fully litigate his entitlement” to claim presidential immunity in the civil case. The trial is currently set to begin in January.
Last week, a three-judge panel unanimously agreed with Judge Lewis Kaplan’s earlier ruling that Trump had waived the immunity defense in the case because he has raised it only now, three years after Carroll filed her lawsuit.
Trump already has one case before the Supreme Court that involves a claim to presidential immunity. He has raised the defense in his federal election interference case, partly in a bid to mire the case in the D.C. Circuit and delay the trial until after the 2024 election. Special counsel Jack Smith took the question directly to the justices Dec. 11, hoping for a speedy resolution so that the trial’s March 4 start date stays on track.
The Supreme Court could also take up an appeal from Trump against Tuesday’s Colorado Supreme Court ruling that disqualified him as a candidate on 14th Amendment grounds.
In their filing to the appeals court Thursday, Madaio and Habba concurred with Smith’s emphasis on the importance of the immunity question. “While President Trump disagrees with the Special Counsel’s view on the merits and the Special Counsel’s efforts to prevent the D.C. Circuit from first addressing the appeal, Mr. Smith is correct about the significance of the moment,” they wrote. Their request for a stay in the Carroll trial appears to be in line with his team’s strategy in dealing with the dizzying number of civil and criminal cases facing the former president: delay for as long as possible and hope he wins the election so he won’t have to stand trial.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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