Special Counsel Jack Smith, along with most of the mainstream media, believed that the cases brought against former President Donald Trump were a lock. 

Turns out that wasn't the case.

As a growing number of media outlets speculate over the outcome of the various cases facing Trump, the Washington Examiner pointed out that the federal election interference case will be an "uphill climb" for Smith to prosecute with success.

The primary holdup in the election interference case is the immunity question which is now at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Until that's sorted out, nobody really knows what can happen.

What's going on?

Smith is facing multiple obstacles in his once-sure attempt to prosecute Trump and land a conviction, or multiple convictions.

The Examiner noted:

But the Supreme Court aside, Smith also relies heavily on Trump’s speech as a means to incriminate him, and legal experts say that if the case resumes, Smith faces the difficult challenge of proving to jurors that the speech was not protected by the Constitution.

After lower court rulings regarding the immunity defense were essentially shot down, Trump and his lawyers took the matter to the Supreme Court. A decision one way or another will have a profound impact on where the case goes -- or if it completely dies.

Even though technically it shouldn't matter, the fact that the the Supreme Court is held by conservative justices -- let alone the fact that Trump appointed three of them -- is a major source of hope for the former president and his lawyers as they bank on a ruling that gives his immunity defense legs.

In addition to the challenges presented to Smith by the election interference case, the special counsel also took a major hit several weeks ago after the judge presiding over the classified documents case delayed the trial "indefinitely."

Compared to where he was earlier this year, Trump is now sitting in a halfway decent legal spot.

Other cases

Trump scored yet another major legal victory earlier this month after a Georgia appeals court ruled in favor of approving Trump's appeal regarding the decision that kept Fulton County DA Fani Willis on the Georgia election case.

If she's ultimately removed from the case, most legal observers have said that the Georgia case will die.

Trump's only minor concern right now is the ongoing New York "hush money" trial and whether or not the left-leaning jury will give him a fair shake.

As far as the case itself is concerned, many legal observers have repeatedly insisted that DA Alvin Bragg has a monumental challenge in convincing the jury that Trump committed an actual crime. Only time will tell.