Trump NOT Immune From Prosecution, DC Court Rules Unanimously
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Former President Donald Trump lost a major court decision on Tuesday as the DC circuit court unanimously ruled he does not have presidential immunity from prosecution.
Politico’s Kyle Cheney reported on the 57-page decision, noting, “The unanimous ruling is a sweeping win for Jack Smith and prosecutors. ‘Any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.'”
Trump is facing 91 criminal charges in four different court cases. In Washington, DC, Trump is facing charges related to his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and stay in power, which resulted in the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s legal team argued before the DC appeals court that former presidents cannot be prosecuted, attempting to throw out the federal election interference case and extend presidential immunity to the post-presidency. Trump’s team also claimed that Trump cannot be tried again over events related to Jan. 6th as he was already impeached and tried in the U.S. Senate — despite impeachment not carrying the weight of a criminal trial.
Trump has already vowed to take an appeal to the 6-3 right-of-center U.S. Supreme Court to avoid prosecution. The former president has repeatedly posted outlandish screeds on his Truth Social media platforming, claiming the presidency will end if he loses, “ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER.”
The judges directly shot down Trump’s argument that immunity was necessary for the presidency to function and argued that granting the former president’s immunity would actually demolish the checks and balances of the U.S. Constitution:
At bottom, former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches. Presidential immunity against federal indictment would mean that, as to the President, the Congress could not legislate, the Executive could not prosecute and the Judiciary could not review. We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.
The January 9th hearing, in which Trump’s lawyers were grilled by the panel of judges, resulted in extraordinary headlines as Trump’s legal team argued the president must have absolute immunity from prosecution including in extreme hypotheticals like ordering assassinations.
Reuters noted in the Tuesday decision that “judges homed in on the broad nature of Trump’s claim at a Jan. 9 hearing, questioning a Trump lawyer over whether even a president who ordered military commandos to assassinate a political rival could escape criminal prosecution without initial action by Congress.”
This is a breaking story and has been updated.
