‘We Don’t Have A King Here:’ Raskin Slams Supreme Court For Hearing Trump Arguments

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) slammed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments from former President Donald Trump that he is immune from prosecution for any actions he took in the White House.

Raskin told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki on Sunday he believed a lower court’s decision on the matter was already “completely exhaustive and totally compelling.” Trump has argued he cannot be prosecuted on charges he attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, seeking to lean on an unprecedented and broad interpretation of presidential immunity. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Court of Appeals unanimously rejected that argument last month, but the Supreme Court agreed to decide on Trump’s claims last week.

Arguments are set for the week of April 22, which effectively freezes special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and will likely push any eventual trial until much later in the year.

“This was an obvious case not to take up, and just let the D.C. Circuit Court ruling stand,” Raskin said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.” “We don’t have a king here, we had a revolution against a king and the Constitution is written so that [the] president’s main job is to take care the laws are faithfully executed, not faithfully violated in his own interest.”

Trump has largely moved to delay his trials on dozens of charges leveled against him in four different indictments. If he wins reelection and has not been tried, he could order the Justice Department to dismiss the federal cases against him or try to pardon himself.

Raskin laid blame for the Supreme Court’s move on the three justices nominated during Trump’s presidency and others under former President George W. Bush. When Psaki asked the lawmaker