Trump Is Already Using Clarence Thomas’ Opinion to His Legal Advantage

The former president’s lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked federal Judge Aileen Cannon to pause the classified documents case entirely.

Donald Trump Todd Blanche
Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche asked Judge Aileen Cannon to give further consideration to Clarence Thomas’ nine-page concurrence to the court’s presidential immunity opinion. Dave Sanders/AP

Donald Trump’s lawyers are already trying to weaponize the Supreme Court’s landmark presidential immunity decision to knock down yet another case against him: this time, the classified documents scandal in South Florida.

As legal experts predicted, the Trump defense team has quickly seized on the “lone wolf” concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas, which — in an unprompted fashion — called into question whether Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has the legal authority to even prosecute the former president.

On Friday afternoon, lead defense lawyer Todd Blanche asked federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, to pause it entirely.