Trump's Ex-Attorney 'Disappointed' and 'Confused' Over U.S. Supreme Court's Immunity Ruling

The historic Supreme Court 'immunity' ruling in favor of former President Donald Trump has rattled Republicans and Democrats alike. Ty Cobb, a former White House attorney for Trump, expressed his disappointment that Justice Elena Kagan did not pen a dissent that "sharply focused on the separation of powers issues," which he claimed to be the 'core' concerns. As per The Hill, he also voiced that he was 'confused' by the majority opinion regarding the use of the president’s official acts as evidence in criminal prosecution against a former president.

“I think they went a little further than I anticipated,” the legal scholar said while appearing on CNN's OutFront. “I’m disappointed a little bit and confused a bit by the elimination of the Jeffrey Clark piece of the case and also the inability to use evidence about official acts about some of the crimes. But they were always going to draw a constitutional line here, a separation of powers line and they drew it and it’s a tight line, but it’s not a line that eliminates this case,” Cobb said. “Jack Smith can process." 

“I think today’s decision – for the most part [was] – largely anticipated, that they would draw a line,” he continued, as per Mediaite. “I think it was pretty clear from the oral argument and from the precedents that they were working with – particularly U.S. v. Nixon and then Fitzgerald that that line would have something to do with the official acts, that they were gonna do something like that.” In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts decided that official actions taken by a former president cannot be used as evidence against them in a criminal prosecution. While U.S. v. Nixon examined whether an executive privilege shields a president from subpoenas or other civil court actions, the court concluded that the president does not have such protection in Nixon v. Fitzgerald. 

“You can’t design a rule that is solely about Trump without putting democracy at risk and eliminating some of the restraints that have historically gotten us through 250 years. Separation of powers is the cornerstone of the Constitution,” Cobb said. “And as much as I wish Trump would get his comeuppance that is due for his evil conduct, the reality is you just can’t go out and have a result-oriented effort by the Supreme Court.” “It needs to be based on principle and precedent and I think for the most part, I was disappointed that Justice Sotomayor didn’t address at all the separation of powers issue, which is what the case was decided on,” he added. Cobb further stated that Trump's criminal prosecution for trying to rig the 2020 election will likely continue despite the ruling.  

Meanwhile, as Trump faces special counsel Jack Smith's federal criminal election subversion case, the court ruling was seen as a victory. The ruling is expected to postpone the trial, returning the matter to a lower court to decide whether or not his conduct on January 6, 2021, warrants immunity from criminal prosecution for choices he made while serving in the White House.