'Astonishing' Trump meddling with Supreme Court 'should be a final wakeup call': expert

Calling it both "bizarre" and a prime example of legal "feebleness," a law professor from the University of Baltimore School of Law shot down President-elect Donald Trump's attempt to forestall a Supreme Court hearing this week where he is said to have no business meddling.

At issue will be the fate of the popular TikTok platform with the justices poised to hear oral arguments on Friday over a law passed by Congress that could effectively shut it down.

As legal expert Kim Wehle wrote for the Bulwark, Donald Trump's attempt to intercede on behalf of TikTok is not only inappropriate but also wrongheaded.

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Noting that it is "bizarre" that Trump and his lawyers want the nation's highest court to put on hold their Friday hearing and allow him to negotiate another course of action, Wehle wrote that Trump's decision to interfere with the court's business when he is not yet president is a warning sign of what is to come.

"For those who continue to pretend that we are not at risk of careening into authoritarianism—or worse—this filing should be a final wakeup call," she wrote before adding, "Even more notable is the fact that the Supreme Court has no authority under the Constitution to simply 'stay' legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the actual sitting president of the United States, Joe Biden, unless that law is found to violate the First Amendment—which is far from evident and cannot be feasibly resolved in any event before January 19, when the law takes effect."

She then pointed out, "The feebleness and audacity of Trump’s brief would be astonishing coming from any Supreme Court litigant, let alone a president-elect," adding, "During normal times, the Supreme Court would treat this rather embarrassing piece of legal writing as a throwaway."

According to Wehle, Trump and his lawyers' brief in "normal times" would be "laughed out of court" but these are not normal times.

"This is not a normal Supreme Court majority," she noted. "After all, last summer it gifted Trump the constitutional right to commit crimes using the powers of the Oval Office—a right that appears nowhere in the Constitution itself and contradicts its text. Yet like Trump himself under Trump v. U.S., the justices are unaccountable, and they know it—even if they violate the Constitution itself."

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