Supreme Court Will Act Fast on Trump Immunity Claim If Only to Thwart His ‘Delay Delay’ Tactic: John Dean

Watergate figure John Dean believes the U.S. Supreme Court will give Special Counsel Jack Smith a speedy decision on the former president's claim to immunity from prosecution on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election, if only to avoid "playing into Trump's hand" of constantly delaying court proceedings.

"They theoretically could wait until the Court of Appeals acted" to decide on Trump's claim that he's protected from prosecution for activities while he was president, Dean told CNN's Pamela Brown on Thursday.

But that delay would "so play into Trump's hand," added the former White House counsel to the late President Richard Nixon. "It's so conspicuous to all of us now that Trump's M.O. is to indeed delay, delay, delay" until the presidential election, Dean added.

Trump's legal team has argued against leap-frogging the courts to go straight to the Supreme Court for a definitive ruling in a shorter period of time.

Trump is pushing for a more plodding process through the court system.

Smith's office argued in a filing Thursday that the Supreme Court's handling of United States v. Nixon supports the argument for taking up highly consequential cases and expediting proceedings.

Dean said the legal stakes in Trump's case are even "higher" than the court challenge by Nixon, who argued he had a a Constitutional privilege to withhold evidence from trial in the Watergate case. But Nixon was only as an "unindicted co-conspirator" with no criminal liability at the time, Dean noted.

Nevertheless, the battle ended up forcing Nixon to resign, Dean noted.

Trump is arguing his position as a former president shields him from prosecution, and the actions for which he now faces four felonies charges fall within the "outer perimeter" of his official responsibilities.