Former President Donald Trump recently lost a major court decision on Tuesday as the DC circuit court unanimously ruled that 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.’”
There are 91 criminal allegations against Trump in four separate court trials. Trump is being prosecuted in Washington, DC, for his attempts to rig the 2020 presidential election in order to maintain his hold on power, which led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6.
In an effort to dismiss the federal election interference case and maintain presidential immunity throughout the post-presidency, Trump’s legal team contended before the DC appeals court that past presidents are immune from prosecution. 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.”
A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. ANY MISTAKE, EVEN IF WELL INTENDED, WOULD BE MET WITH ALMOST CERTAIN INDICTMENT BY THE OPPOSING PARTY AT TERM END. EVEN EVENTS THAT “CROSS THE LINE”…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 6, 2024
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.
The unanimous ruling is a sweeping win for Jack Smith. and prosecutors. "Any executive immunity that may have proteceted him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution."
The 57-page opinion: https://t.co/pdf42Xzplk pic.twitter.com/H6hkAl6m2V
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 6, 2024
