Trump’s team of lawyers have already filed a brief to the SCOTUS asking them to hear the appeal of the DC Circuit’s opinion granting the Select Committee access to Trump’s presidential records in and around January 6th. For reasons beyond the scope of this column, the lawyers know they’re fighting an uphill battle on this one. Most likely, they are trying to buy time by having the SCOTUS hear the case at all and not as concerned about the ruling (yet).

They are desperate enough that they filed another brief today, what is called a “supplementary” brief. According to the Washington Post:

Lawyers for former president Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that a Washington Post interview with the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol shows the committee is trying to establish a criminal complaint against Trump, something the lawyers say is beyond the committee’s authority.

What? Even a non-lawyer could point out that the committee isn’t trying to prosecute Trump. They are trying to get evidence in order to refer the matter to someone who could prosecute Trump. An office manager who believes an employee is stealing from the office tries to find evidence to establish a criminal complaint that is beyond the manager’s authority to file. They get the evidence anyway in order to forward it to someone who can.

And yet:

The lawyers filed a supplemental brief alerting the justices to a Dec. 23 Post article featuring an interview with Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee’s chairman.

In the article, Thompson said the committee is looking intently into Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as it considers whether to recommend that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation into the former president.

And?

As we said, this looks so desperate. They may get their hearing, but they also sure as hell know that they’re up against it this time.

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