Donald Trump urged a federal appeals court to throw out the federal election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC, again arguing in a filing late Saturday that he is protected under presidential immunity.
Trump wants the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower-court ruling rejecting his claims of immunity in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case. The appeals panel is weighing Trump’s request, which the Supreme Court on Friday refused to take up on an expedited basis, as Smith requested.
The filing reiterates what the former president’s lawyers have repeatedly asserted – that Trump was working in his official capacity as president to “ensure election integrity” when he allegedly undermined the 2020 election results and therefore has immunity, and that his indictment is unconstitutional because presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for “official acts” unless they are impeached and convicted by the Senate.
“The Constitution establishes a powerful structural check to prevent political factions from abusing the formidable threat of criminal prosecution to disable the President and attack their political enemies,” Trump’s attorneys wrote Saturday.
Former President Donald Trump appears during a campaign event in Durham, New Hampshire, on December 16.
The former president has been attempting to delay his March 4 trial in the case, with his fight over the immunity claim underscoring those efforts.
The appeals court has expedited its consideration of his appeal, and it’s set to hear oral arguments in the matter on January 9. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing his criminal case, temporarily paused all procedural deadlines in the case while the appeal plays out.
