Topline
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team asked an appeals court to dismiss the the federal case charging him with attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, saying presidents enjoy broad protection from criminal prosecution over their actions in office, the latest in an ongoing battle with federal prosecutors over immunity.
Former President Donald Trump at a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. (Photo by … [+] Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Trump’s legal team argued that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for “official acts unless he is first impeached and convicted by the Senate,” his lawyers wrote in a filing before a Washington, D.C. appeals court.
Trump was impeached by the House in January 2021 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, but was acquitted a month later in a trial before the Senate, which requires a vote of two-thirds of its members to convict a president.
The filing notes that for 234 years, “no current or former President had ever been criminally prosecuted for official acts” and asserts that “the historical fallout [of Trump’s prosecutions this year] is tremendous.”
The filing builds on an argument Trump has made in response to his various legal issues, including several civil cases, which have been unsuccessful thus far as federal district and appeals court judges have repeatedly ruled that Trump’s presidency does not grant him broad legal immunity.
Prosecutors and judges have consistently disagreed with Trump’s legal argument that the Constitution protects former presidents from any criminal prosecution.
Key Background
The appeals court is reviewing Trump’s immunity claims after Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the federal government’s Jan. 6 case against Trump, rejected the argument in December, ruling Trump’s time in the White House does not give him the “divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.” Trump faces four felony charges in the case—obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy against rights—which could carry a combined maximum prison sentence of more than 50 years if convicted.
Tangent
The appeals court is reviewing the case after the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department to make a speedy ruling on the immunity claims so the case could go to trial before the 2024 election, if the court agrees with Chutkan. While the high court has never considered the question of whether a president can be criminally charged for actions taken while in office, its conservative lean does not guarantee it will side with Trump, and it’s indicated previously that presidents are not exempt from criminal proceedings. In 2020, it ordered him to comply with a grand jury subpoena, writing “no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding.”
What To Watch For
Whether Trump’s March 4 trial date in the case will be delayed as the court weighs the immunity question. The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 9 in the case, which is on hold while the appeals court considers Trump’s argument.
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