ANALYSIS
‘Slim’: Legal Experts Weigh in on Trump’s Chances After He Appeals Judge’s Ruling Ordering Release of Documents
Legal experts are weighing in on Donald Trump’s chances for successfully blocking a federal judge’s Tuesday night ruling that requires the National Archives to release a trove of documents to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
Trump had tried to appeal the judge’s ruling before she handed it down, but she quickly denied his request.
Immediately after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against the former president, reminding his attorneys that the current president was “best positioned” to decide on matters of executive privilege as USA Today notes, Trump’s attorneys filed a “notice of appeal” to the D.C. Court of Appeals (remember this for later.)
As one legal expert suggested, it exposed their ignorance of court procedures:
Side note, what’s up with this notice of appeal? There’s a standardized form you use in the D.C. District. It’s on their website.
I mean, there’s nothing WRONG with this filing, but it’s weird. pic.twitter.com/c0heC7TsW3
— National Security Counselors (@NatlSecCnslrs) November 10, 2021
“The case is likely to reach the Supreme Court,” USA Today reports.
But legal experts seem to hold a different opinion.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor says it could go either way.
“Trump already has appealed. That’s the easy part,” Honig writes. “The question now is whether the district judge or the court of appeals will issue a ‘stay’ – a pause, essentially, to allow the appeal to happen before docs go over. That’ll be a close call.”
On the question of whether or not the appeal will even be heard, MSNBC and NBC News legal analyst Joyce Vance, also a former federal prosecutor, says she expects to see “some type of ruling.”
Good question. The default is that on Friday, National Archives will release Trump papers to @January6thCmte unless the judge stays her order or the court of appeals blocks. If the courts don’t act, papers go to the Comm, but I expect we’ll see some type of ruling. https://t.co/bE1OthpZwD
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) November 10, 2021
Attorney Teri Kanefield, a Washington Post and NBC THINK contributor says Trump’s chances of succeeding are “slim.”
Well, well, well. What have we here?
Trump already filed his notice of appeal.This doesn’t mean much: He still has to get a court order stopping the docs from going to Congress while the appeal is pending.
His chances of succeeding are slim. pic.twitter.com/FhRnXgOcc8
— Teri Kanefield (@Teri_Kanefield) November 10, 2021
“I can’t see why the judge would offer a stay after denying the preliminary injunction,” Kanefield adds. “Nobody can predict 100% what a court will do. But this looks bad for Trump.”
Remember where Trump’s attorney filed his notice of appeal? In the D.C. Appeals Court?
If all this weren’t bad enough for the former president, attorney and former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa suggests Trump’s attorney filed in the wrong court.
Under Rule 8 he has to move in the district court first. If he tries to go to the appellate court first he has to show why filing in the district court is “impracticable” which I can’t see how he can show if the judge said she’s consider it
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) November 10, 2021
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