- Appeals court rejects Trump’s immunity
- Trump plans to appeal decision
- Trials could delay until after election
Former President Donald Trump is not exempt from federal allegations that he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, as determined by an appeals court in the United States.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a panel of three judges, ruled on Tuesday, “For the purposes of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all the defences of any other criminal defendant.
“However, any executive immunity he may have had during his presidency is no longer in effect to shield him from this prosecution,” the ruling stated.
This ruling represents the second instance in a span of months in which judges have rejected Trump’s defence that his actions during his presidency should exempt him from prosecution.
Trump Challenges Presidential Immunity
The ruling, according to a Trump campaign spokesman, “endangers the very foundation of our republic.”
“A President of the United States could not function properly in the absence of absolute immunity,” said Steven Cheung, the spokesperson, in a statement. He stated that Trump would file an appeal but did not specify whether he would petition the complete appeals court in Washington for a review before proceeding to the Supreme Court.
In order to afford Trump the opportunity to assert his appeal, the case will be on hold until Monday at the latest.
“This is a terrible portent for the president’s assertions of immunity; however, it does not spell the end of the road. The Supreme Court will likely rule, but they could simply say, ‘We’re not going to take this case,’ in which case the trial could begin within weeks,” Culhane elaborated.
The appeals court assumed a prominent role in the immunity dispute subsequent to the Supreme Court’s declaration last month that it would be temporarily absent from the matter. This decision was in response to special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a prompt ruling.
Former presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official actions, according to the arguments of Trump’s attorneys unless they have been impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate.
Trump’s Legal Battles Intensify
The House twice impeached the former president of the Republican Party. A majority of senators found him culpable following Senate trials. However, they were unable to attain the two-thirds majority necessary to remove him from office. And he was acquitted on both occasions.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is currently presiding over the case. In December, Chutkan dismissed Trump’s arguments and stated that the White House “does not grant an eternal ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”
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Trump’s attorneys appealed the initial decision in a Washington court of appeals, but Smith petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene first in an effort to preserve a March 4 trial date in the federal election interference case and obtain a swift, conclusive judgement.
Nevertheless, the request was denied by the high court, which remanded the case to the appeals court.
Despite the potential rejection of Trump’s argument by the courts, it is probable that the appeals will succeed in postponing the trial past March 4, and potentially until after the presidential election in November, which is anticipated to feature a rematch between Biden and Trump.
He could self-pardon or request that the Department of Justice terminate the federal case if he wins in November.
However, he faces three more state-based criminal prosecutions that presidents cannot dismiss.
