Former President Trump, as he did during his effort in late 2020 to overturn that year’s presidential election, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case involving classified documents that were taken to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump hoped for a court with a conservative majority and three justices appointed by himself to take his side on a crucial question. 

And once again, that’s not what happened.

According to the Washington Post, the Supreme Court refused to reinstate an order from a lower court judge, Judge Aileen Cannon, who had ordered that a special master review the documents. 

It was a one-sentence order, with no dissents listed. 

“The application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on September 21, 2022, presented to Justice [Clarence] Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied,” the order said, per CNBC. 

The appeal went straight to Justice Thomas because Thomas has jurisdiction over appeals from the 11th Circuit. 

It was a day of legal setbacks for Trump. On the same day, the January 6 Committee voted to subpoena the former president. The committee unanimously voted for the subpoena, which came during what will likely be its final hearing, at least prior to the midterm elections next month. 

"This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions. He’s required to answer to those police officers who put their lives and bodies on the line to defend our democracy. He’s required to answer to those millions of Americans whose votes he wanted to throw out as part of his scheme to remain in power," the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), said, per NBC News. 

Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said during the hearing that the committee "may ultimately decide to make a series of criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.”

In other news involving Trump investigations, the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, announced an action to “immediately stop Donald Trump and the Trump Organization from continuing financial fraud.” 

The company started a new entity in September called “Trump Organization II LLC.” 

“Our investigation uncovered the fact that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization engaged in significant fraud to inflate his personal net worth by billions of dollars to illegally enrich himself and cheat the system,” James said in a statement. “Since we filed this sweeping lawsuit last month, Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have continued those same fraudulent practices and taken measures to evade responsibility. Today, we are seeking an immediate stop to these actions because Mr. Trump should not get to play by different rules.”

It comes after James’ September lawsuit against the former president’s company. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters