From the “words I never expected to write” department, this observation seems spot on and it should have occurred to me when I read the Court’s order setting the Trump immunity case for a hearing (via Jonathan Adler):

UPDATE: Ed Whelan flags another interesting aspect of the Court’s order that I overlooked.

The Court failed to grant Trump’s stay application. The grant of certiorari had the same effect, however, as the Court ordered the D.C. Circuit to withhold its mandate. Here’s the interesting part: It take five votes to grant a stay, but only four to grant certiorari. Thus the lack of a stay suggests a majority of the Court may have been inclined to affirm the D.C. Circuit, even if some had concerns about the lower court’s reasoning. That at least four voted to grant certiorari may also mean no more that at least four justices saw a need to refine the D.C. Circuit’s analysis so as to provide greater clarity about the scope of presidential immunity going forward.