'Losing the battle but winning the war': Legal analysts on Trump's immunity court delay

It has been over a month since the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals began deliberating Donald Trump's claims that he should have "presidential immunity" from criminal charges.

And a Politico report Wednesday said Trump is the one benefitting from the court's delay.

"Lengthy delays in his federal criminal cases create the possibility that, if he wins the presidency this November, Trump could avoid the charges altogether by having the Justice Department end the prosecutions or perhaps even by pardoning himself," said Politico.

The trial for the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 insurrection was set to begin March 4 but, as it stands, it will likely be delayed until the middle of April due to a pause in pre-trial proceedings while the appeal decision remains unknown.

Speculation among legal scholars has run rampant online, with some suggesting that one appeals judge, the conservative, is likely holding things up. Others hope it is more about helping the Supreme Court, with which the decision could ultimately land, be able to turn down the case.

Responding to the Politico piece, former Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann wrote that his podcast partner, former federal prosecutor Mary McCord, and he have been "worried" that "the D.C. immunity appeal could result in Trump losing that battle but winning the war, by avoiding a trial before the election.”

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Allison Gill, who co-hosts a podcast with Andrew McCabe about the two federal trials called "Jack," mentioned her concerns about Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush.

"I’m also worried that Judge Henderson is slow-rolling the ruling," wrote Gill. "It’s been too long at this point. She initially voted against an expediting briefing but was outvoted by Judges [Florence Y.] Pan and [J. Michelle] Childs. If Henderson waits too long, and SCOTUS wants to weigh in, it could push past the election."

The fear from some analysts is that if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, he will pardon himself or order his new Attorney General to drop the federal cases. He could not scrub state cases, however — he is facing one in Georgia and another in New York.