NEW: For his next act, Donald Trump will simultaneously fight two criminal cases in courthouses hundreds of miles apart – and one of them could alter the presidency forever.

w/ Josh Gerstein

politico.com/news/2024/04/2…

One crucial thing to watch: Even if the justices seem inclined to reject Trump's immunity position, do they coalesce around a middle road that could still take months to resolve — dooming the chances of a 2024 trial. politico.com/news/2024/04/2…

GORSUCH becomes the first judge to flirt with the notion that the court could send the case back to Chutkan for further proceedings to determine whether Trump's actions in 2020 were official or private. That would be a win for Trump delay strategy.

Hard to parse with only one half of the arguments in the books, but Kavanaugh seemed particularly likely to side with Trump. Gorsuch, too, seemed to lean toward a middle-ground test that would help Trump's delay strategy.

But Roberts/Barrett seemed skeptical of Trump postiion.

KBJ: 'The most powerful person in the world could go into office knowing that there would be no potential penalty for committing crimes … I'm trying to understanding what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office into the seat of criminal activity in this country.'

So far, the story here seems to be that at least three justices (Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh) seem inclined to send the case back to the lower courts for additional analysis. That outcome would doom chances of Trump case going to trial this year and, if he wins the election, ever