In 1952, in the middle of the Korean War, the United Steel Workers of America threatened to strike.

But before they could, President Truman shocked the nation with a televised address

announcing he was seizing control of the steel plants

so as not to interrupt the war effort.

Within half an hour of that address,

lawyers for the steel companies have driven to a

district court judge's home in Washington DC and gotten the judge to set a

hearing for the next morning, a hearing as to whether or not a president could actually do that.

Now the merits of that case are really interesting, but the reason the Steel seizure case

matters today is the speed at which it was heard by the Supreme Court. The issue

was so urgent for the steel workers, the unions, the steel companies, the US

military. It was so pressing that the case skipped the appeals process and the

Supreme Court heard oral arguments just a little over a month after Truman's

announcement. They decided the case less than a month after that,

which is like light speed in Supreme Court time.

And that is why in Special Counsel Jack Smith's filing

before the Supreme Court today,

Mr. Smith cited the 1952 Steel Seizure case.

Trump's lawyers have argued that the entire federal election interference case should be

thrown out because Trump as president was protected by presidential

immunity. In his filing today, Jacksmith argued that resolution of this issue is so important that it requires an immediate and definitive decision by the nation's highest court.

And the 1952 Steel Seizure case shows that the Supreme Court can act fast

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