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‘Betting Money’: SCOTUS Likely to Reject Appeal of Trump Immunity Ruling Say Experts

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The unanimous, long-awaited ruling by a three-judge federal appeals court panel finding Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution is so strong that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decline to hear any appeal made by attorneys for the ex-president, legal experts say.

Trump had claimed he has “total immunity” from prosecution for any actions he took while president, an argument so extreme his attorneys were forced to tell a judge that even if, while President, Trump hypothetically had ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival, he could not be prosecuted unless impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate first.

“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution,” the judges wrote. Trump’s immunity argument is tied to his federal prosecution by Special Counsel Jack Smith in his case on election subversion and actions surrounding January 6.

Noted legal reporter Adam Klasfeld observes, “This was a three-judge D.C. Circuit panel — appointed by presidents from both sides of the aisle — articulating the stakes of this criminal case, in one voice in a unanimous, unsigned opinion.”

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Klasfeld also highlights important sections from the ruling:

“It would be a striking paradox if the President, who alone is vested with the constitutional duty to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ were the sole officer capable of defying those laws with impunity,” the judges wrote.

They noted that “former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches.”

“We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results,” they added.

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti says the ruling is “Not surprising,” and adds, “this is a *unanimous* decision of the panel rejecting rather silly arguments by Trump‘s legal team.”

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“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Supreme Court declines to take this case up, letting this ruling stand.”

Professor of law Jed Shugerman writes that Tuesday’s D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is “a thorough unanimous opinion that covers all the bases, so SCOTUS is more likely to deny cert, and more likely a trial starts.” (Denying “cert” means not granting review, or “certiorari.”)

“I get the frustration that they took almost a month,” Shugerman adds – many legal experts have complained the decision was obvious and should have been handed down sooner. “But they wrote a 57-page opinion on interlocutory jurisdiction & some complex merits (e.g., explaining Marbury on discretion), and all 3 judges with different ideological priors had to agree on reasoning and wording. Kudos.”

Former Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal, a professor of law and frequent MSNBC guest, said on social media, “This is the opinion the country was waiting for. Straight loss for Trump.”

He points to this from the ruling: “Former President Trump’s alleged efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election were, if proven, an unprecedented assault on the structure of our government.”

And on MSNBC just after the ruling was handed down, Katyal made clear he believes it is so sound the Supreme Court will not want to review it, and will deny Trump if he attempts to appeal it to the nation’s highest court.

“The court did something really smart,” Katyal says of the D.C. Appeals Court. “They said, Trump, you got to go to the Supreme Court by Monday. Otherwise, this case is going back to Judge Chutkan. He’s going to run to the Supreme Court and my gut is, given the thoroughness and well reasoning of this opinion, and the kind of ludicrous claim that Trump’s advanced on the other, that he’s absolutely immune from all criminal laws, I don’t think the U.S. Supreme Court is going to take this.”

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I mean, they certainly could, you know, they often take executive power cases. But if I had to put betting money on it, I don’t think it’s close right now. And I think the Supreme Court says no, this goes back to Judge Chutkan, and then she has the question, how much time is she going to give Donald Trump to prepare for his criminal trial for being an insurrectionist?”

Watch Katyal’s remarks on MSNBC below or at this link.

 

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King Charles Discreetly Rebukes Trump in Historic Address to Congress: Report

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April 28, 2026

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Britain’s King Charles III delivered a “carefully targeted rebuff” of President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies during his historic address before Congress, Politico reports, as he lauded NATO and called for “unyielding resolve” to defend Ukraine against Russia.

“British monarchs deliver their political messages in code,” Politico noted, adding that “contrary to the president’s repeated claims over recent weeks, NATO was in fact there to help in America’s hour of need.”

Charles told members of Congress that in “the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time, and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together, as our people have done so, for more than a century.”

“Shoulder to shoulder,” he declared, “through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and moments that have defined our shared security. Today, Mr. Speaker, that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people.”

His Ukraine entreaty received bipartisan applause and a standing ovation.

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Charles praised the United States’ armed forces’ “commitment and expertise,” and that of its allies, that “lie at the heart of NATO.”

Calling it “a direct plea to Trump and Hill Republicans to maintain American support against the Russian invasion,” Politico stated that Charles “is striking a very different tone from Trump’s incessant criticisms of Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”

READ MORE: FCC Poised to Review Disney Licenses Amid Trump Pressure Over Kimmel Joke: Report

 

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Trump White House Blames Democrats’ ‘Unhinged Rhetoric’ for Inciting WHCD Attack

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17 hours ago

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April 28, 2026

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The White House is alleging that “unhinged” and “sick rhetoric” from Democrats is to blame for inciting the alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and members of his administration by “another Radical Left lunatic.”

On Saturday, at the hotel hosting the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner, a heavily armed man broke through a security checkpoint on the floor above the event and was taken down by Secret Service agents. In his manifesto, the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly named “Administration officials ” as his primary “targets.”

On Tuesday, in a press release titled “Democrats’ Unhinged Rhetoric Incites Third Assassination Attempt on President Trump,” the Trump White House charged that the “attack was not random; it was the predictable result of years of reckless, inflammatory, and escalating rhetoric from Democrats” who “have created a toxic environment that incites their supporters to violence again and again.”

The White House listed over a dozen prominent Democrats and their remarks.

For example, it cited House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who said that Democrats “are in an era of maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time” against Republicans. Jeffries’ remarks were initially taken from a direct quote attributed to a “person close to the White House,” as The New York Times reported last year.

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In August, The Times reported: “One person close to the president, who insisted on anonymity to describe the White House’s political strategy candidly, summed it up succinctly: ‘Maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.'”

The White House did not mention the connection.

In its press release, the White House also quoted Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who “called on his supporters to ‘be forcefully rising up against’ President Trump.” Senator Schumer did not say, against President Trump. He said, “against this,” referring to the Trump Justice Department’s prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The White House also cited Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for saying that “heads do need to roll” inside the Trump Administration, and California Governor Gavin Newsom for urging supporters to “punch these sons of b —— in the mouth.”

In total, the White House cited eighteen Democrats and their statements.

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FCC Poised to Review Disney Licenses Amid Trump Pressure Over Kimmel Joke: Report

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20 hours ago

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April 28, 2026

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The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to review Disney’s broadcast licenses, according to an exclusive report by Semafor.

According to Semafor, a person familiar with the FCC’s thinking said the review is not directly tied to a monologue delivered last week by ABC’s late night host Jimmy Kimmel, which targeted President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

But NBC News, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported later on Tuesday that the FCC is expected to order Disney’s eight broadcast stations to file their broadcast license reviews early.

A source told NBC News the move was “unprecedented” and directly tied to Kimmel’s comments.

On Monday, First Lady Melania Trump blasted ABC, demanding the broadcast network hold Kimmel to account.

READ MORE: Trump ‘Frustrated’ by Ballroom Legal Battles — So GOP Wants You to Pay for It: Report

“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” the First Lady said on social media. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”

“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,” she continued, calling the late night host a “coward” who “hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.”

Later on Monday, President Trump went even further than the First Lady, demanding Kimmel “be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”

Days earlier, on Thursday night, in a mock version of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Kimmel delivered several jokes, including saying: “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Kimmel delivered his monologue two days before an alleged assassination attempt targeting Trump and top administration officials at the actual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.

READ MORE: Coming Price Spike Made Worse by Trump Could Deal ‘Fatal Blow’ to GOP: Report

 

Image via Reuters 

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