Not hardly, right? By no stretch of the imagination is the disgraced, twice impeached, four times criminally indicted ex-President an appealing figure, at least not to most folks. No, the title here applies to Trump’s latest legal gambit, appealing a lower court’s ruling that denied his claims of immunity for his 2020 election interference shenanigans, in the case brought against him by the Justice Department. The trial date is set for March 4, but will likely be postponed due to delaying tactics such as too;;phese.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, presiding over that trial, denied a motion to dismiss based on presidential immunity in December, writing, “The court cannot conclude that our Constitution cloaks former Presidents with absolute immunity for any federal crimes they committed while in office.” Sounds obvious, no? Not to Trump, whose lawyers appealed the case to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and a three-judge panel from that body heard oral arguments to overturn Chutkan’s ruling on January 9. Both Trump himself and the federal prosecutor Jack Smith appeared in court for the hearing, which began at 9:30 AM EST in Washington DC and lasted just over an hour.
A ruling may not be handed down for days or even weeks, but the judges’ questions seem to indicate rampant skepticism about the validity of Trump’s claims, with Judge Florence Pan getting down to the essence of the argument when she observed, “I understand your position to be that a president is immune from criminal prosecution for any official act that he takes as president even if that action is taken for an unlawful or unconstitutional purpose.” If this appellate subset panel rules against him, Trump could ask for the full nine-member DC Circuit Court to review the decision, or appeal directly to the US Supreme Court.
In casting an eye over news reports of the hearing, this asteroid astrologer’s heart was gladdened by so many exact PNA (Personal-Named Asteroids) matches among the participants, and a chart cast for the start of oral arguments well depicts the combatants squared off in their respective corners. The all-female panel included Judge Florence Pan, Judge Karen Henderson, and Judge Michelle Childs, with Trump attorney D. John Sauer petitioning the court, and James Pearce representing Smith as prosecutor. Between them, there are eight exact asteroid matches out of ten names, with the remaining two having close approximations or alternate forms represented. Trump and Smith are there as well, along with MNAs (Mythic-Named Asteroids) resonating to the process.
What stands out at first blush is the preponderance of asteroids at station, relating to the case. Stationary bodies exert a greater-than-typical influence on events and character, and indicate major “turning points” for those involved. In this case, we see a plethora of points in late Taurus, clustering about Uranus at 19 Taurus, which rules controversy, something certainly not lacking in Trump’s legal woes.
Here are both asteroid Themis 24 at 24 Taurus and asteroid Justitia 269 at 17 Taurus, named respectively for the Greek and Roman goddesses of justice, and as such, having affinities to the judiciary, courts and the justice system. Justitia turned direct on the very day of the hearing, while Themis will follow suit three days later. As well, Themis is exactly conjoined by asteroid Smith 3351, representing prosecutor Jack Smith, in attendance at the hearing, w hich turned direct on January 4. The confluence of Smith with Themis at the same degree shows Jack Smith as decidedly on the side of Justice in this proceeding. Specifically designating this as an appellate court ruling is asteroid Appella 988, which at 26 Taurus joins the group, and turned direct on January 6.
Judge Florence Pan taps directly into this energy as well, with asteroid Florence 3122 opposed from 23 Scorpio, and asteroid Pan 4450 in square from 16 Aquarius, forming a T-Square. Judges Karen Henderson and Michelle Childs are also prominently placed, with asteroids Karen 2651 and Michelle 1576 conjoined at 23 and 26 Libra, indicating propinquity, opposed asteroid Jackschmitt 7749 at 28 Aries (a CNA, or Composite-Named Asteroid, which approximates Jack Smith, with a German version of his surname), with Pluto on the fulcrum of a T-Square from 29 Capricorn. This shows the power (Pluto) of these judges (Karen, Michelle) and the prosecutor (Jackschmitt) in this criminal matter (also Pluto-ruled). The Sun at 18 Capricorn is just beginning to highlight all these players by square, and will continue to draw them into the spotlight as we await the verdict.
In the meantime, the Sun is more closely focused on the government’s attorney, James Pearce, with a square to asteroid Pearce 3304 at 19 Libra, and asteroid James 2335 at 3 Pisces, conjunct Saturn, ruling the government, the law, accountability and penalties, at 4 Pisces.
Judge Childs is also represented by asteroid Child 4580, which at 18 Sagittarius conjoins Venus at 13 Sag, asteroid America 916 at 20 Sag, and the Moon at 23 Sag, identifying her as a female (Venus, Moon) representing the American (America) public (Moon). Judge Henderson is further seen as asteroid Henderson 3077, which at 11 Leo conjoins asteroid Nemesis 128 at 3 Leo, suggesting Henderson is enacting the role of cosmic avenger in this instance, ready to bring ruin and downfall where karmically merited.
So much for the government actors. Donald Trump himself is seen as asteroids Donn 4689 and Troemper 28130. Troemper at 13 Pisces is still within orb of asteroid Karma 3811, now at 21 Pisces, with which it has been hand-in-glove for 18 months, and will continue for 18 more, within ten degrees of each other over the entire three-year period. This affords a protracted opportunity for Trump (Troemper) to be called to account for his prior misdeeds (Karma), and to pay for them, which is the process we’ve seen playing out for nearly a year now.
Troemper/Karma is squared to a pairing of asteroids Whitehouse 4036 and Sauer 9248, representing D. John Sauer, attorney for the former president (Whitehouse), linking lawyer and client. Sauer is also represented by asteroid Johney 90308, one of two celestial referents for John, which at 7 Capricorn closely aligns with asteroid Donn at 5 Capricorn, putting him on the same page as Trump. Asteroid Johnny 3252, also for John Sauer, appears at 25 Cancer, opposed Pluto and squared Jackschmitt and the Karen/Michelle duo, filling in a Grand Cross that also depicts the conflict (square) between Team Trump and the judges and prosecutor.
As ever, the skies above reflect the realities below, and this appeal, made under a stationary asteroid Appella, is only one of several currently hanging fire for Donald Trump, including an effort before the US Supreme Court to have him restored to the Colorado Primary ballot. With asteroid Troemper moving ever closer to its opposition to asteroid NOT 2857 at 25 Virgo, a general disqualifier or symbol of blocked progress (coming into orb on January 16 and exact on February 7), we can expect that most appellate rulings will not be in Trump’s favor.
And this, I do find appealing.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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