smerconish starts right now. is it over before it begins? i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. before a single primary vote has been cast, has donald trump already sewn up the gop nomination or is it still up for grabs? everybody has an opinion. but the data tells a pretty compelling story. peggy noonan writing that i refuse to see the story as over. voting begins now. after chris christie dropped out, nate kohn wrote the christie vote alone will probably not be enough, but haley has been steady gaining in the polls and historically there is a lot of precedent for urge is being candidates to keep gaining especially over a contest s final days. and new hampshire will be a wild card. independents can vote in the gop primary and according to data released yesterday, 43% of americans, look at that graph, 43% of americans consider themselves to be independent. rs and ds are tied at 27. it tie as record for an independent showing making them the largest political bloc in the c
is it over before it begins? i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. before a single primary vote has been cast, has donald trump already sown up the 2024 gop nomination, or is it still up for grabs? everybody has an opinion, but the data tells a pretty compelling story. peggy noonan in the wall street journal writing this week, i refuse to see the story is over. the voting begins now. after chris christie dropped out, the new york times wrote, the christie vote alone will probably not be enough, but haley has been steadily gaining in the polls and historically there s a lot of precedent for surging candidates to keep gaining, especially over a contest s final days. and new hampshire, which is second up, will be a wild card. independents can vote in the gop primary, and according to data released yesterday from gallup, 43% of americans consider themselves to be independent. the rs and ds are tied at 27. it ties a record for an independent showing, making them the largest
reporting to special counsel jack smith will square off in front of a three-judge pam of the court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. at issue whether trump has immunity for conduct he undertook as president or cannot otherwise face prosecution because it would represent double jeopardy. that s the legal issue. but what s most important here is the timing. trial court judge has determined she can t move forward until this issue is resolved. she entered an order on december 13 saying trump s appeal automatically stays any further proceedings that would otherwise move the case toward trial. but that stay could be lifted after the outcome of tuesday s argument. for sure, the losing side is going to appeal to the supreme court after perhaps first asking for the first court of the appellate court to hear the matter on bond. the losing party has 90 days to ask for supreme court review. as i detailed before, smith is eager to get trump tried before the election. trump, on the other ha
hu. if you know you know. thank you for jojoining me t to. i i ll see youou next satuturda 8:00 a.m. smerconish is up next. there s an election coming, but you ll never hear jack smith say so. the supreme court is about to have more influence on the outcome of a presidential election than at any time since is the 2000 decision in bush verv. gore. jack smith asked the court to bypass the appellate level and make a decision about whether donald trump is entitled to immunity. and separately, this week they agreed to hear a challenge to a law used to prosecute hundreds of january 6th defendants for obstructing or impeding an official proceedingsing, which could impact smith s prosecution against trump on those charges. here s what s interesting to me. nowhere in the government s petition is there any specific reference to the 2024 presidential election, but that s clear ly what is driving smith s request. in making his case, here s what he told the court. quote, this case prese
testify in an investigation into a hush money scheme involving stormy daniels. that s believed to be a precursor to an indictment. potential defendants are required to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury weigh anything charges. it charged, trump would become the first former president to be indicted. but would it slow his current presidential quest? i say not a chance, at least not based opt this case alone. any charges here would stem from the $130,000 in payments made to daniels during the 2016 campaign. apparently she had been ready to share her story with the national inquirer. but the tabloid s publisher was a trump friend who instead h helped broker a deal with the lawyer. i long thought it was the weakness of the trump investigations. first the events of january 6th. the mishandling of documents, the election interference including the so-called perfect phone call to secretary of state and fourth, this, the stormy daniels hush money. merrick garland a