A US court has decided that Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution and can be charged with conspiring to rig the 2020 election.In the historic court case, Mr. Trump had argued that his actions as president qualified him for immunity from prosecution.However, that claim was refuted by a unanimous decision in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.It is a blow for Mr. Trump, who has been fighting numerous cases for years while claiming presidential immunity.
“We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results,” the panel of three judges wrote in its opinion.It stated: “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defences of any other criminal defendant.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement shortly after the decision that the former president “respectfully disagrees with the DC Circuit’s decision and will appeal it.”The case may ultimately go to the Supreme Court, where conservatives have a 6-3 majority, if an appeal is filed. Mr. Trump has until February 12th to take action.”If immunity is not granted to a president, every future president who leaves office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party,” Cheung stated. “Without complete immunity, a president of the United States would not be able to properly function.”
The 77-year-old Mr. Trump is accused by US Special Counsel Jack Smith of committing fraud to maintain his position of power and of plotting to thwart Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.The trial in that case was originally set for March 4th, but it was postponed while the immunity claim was decided. If the case is heard by the Supreme Court, it might be postponed for several weeks or even months.The case was heard by a panel of three judges at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit last month.
The crux of Mr. Trump’s legal team’s argument was that criminal proceedings cannot be brought against a president who Congress has not found guilty of impeachment. They pointed out that although the House of Representatives impeached Mr. Trump, the Senate never found him guilty.This argument was already dismissed by the trial’s judge back in December. In her writing at the time, Judge Tanya Chutkan stated that being president “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass”.The judges, who were one Republican and two Democratic appointees, were skeptical of the former president’s case during the hearing.
Judge Florence Pan proposed that immunity would shield a president from criminal prosecution in cases where they order the assassination of a political rival or sell state secrets.
