Though Judge Messitte opened the door to discovery and full litigation of Trump’s corruption, the former president relied on the novelty of the decision to take an unusual mid-case appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court eventually and appropriately rejected the appeal, before the Supreme Court found the case moot.
That means Judge Messitte’s comprehensive opinion is the definitive word on the matter and will shape related cases going forward. Challenges against the next president who runs afoul of the Emoluments Clauses will start off at a more developed stage, allowing them to move more swiftly through the court system. A judge hearing such a case need not be weighed down by the novelty of the constitutional question and bad-faith appeals can be rejected more quickly. This change in circumstance will make it difficult to replicate the litigation tactics deployed by the Trump team to gum up the gears of the justice system.
But this work is far from over….
— to www.politico.com
