A federal appeals court ruled unanimously this Tuesday that Donald Trump
does not have immunity
and can be tried for trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 elections, a new judicial problem that falls on him in the middle of his presidential campaign to return to the White House.
"For the purposes of this criminal case,
former President Trump has become Citizen Trump,
with all the defenses of any other criminal defendant. Any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this trial." , the three-judge panel wrote.
Trump will undoubtedly
appeal this decision
: he has already indicated that he plans to ask the full US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and the US Supreme Court to review the ruling.
What he seeks is
to delay any federal sentencing
until after the November 5 elections.
The presiding judge has postponed the trial indefinitely as the immunity battle continues.
The Justice Department has long maintained that a current president cannot be prosecuted.
But Trump raised
the novel claim
that former presidents can't either, at least for actions related to their official duties, unless they are first impeached and convicted by Congress.
After being acquitted by the Senate of inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection, Trump said that trying him in federal court would be a legal violation for trying him twice for the same crime.
Trump raised the novel claim that former presidents cannot be prosecuted.
Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Legal experts heard in court wrote that Trump's position
was "absurd,"
and the three appeals judges who heard the case also decided so.
"I think it's paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed
allows him to violate criminal laws
," Karen L. Henderson, the only Republican on the panel, said during arguments on the case earlier in January
When asked at that hearing whether Trump's view of presidential impunity
could allow the assassination of a political rival
, the former president's defense attorney D. John Sauer did not disagree.
He only suggested that such action would "quickly" result in impeachment.
Trump's position
Trump, who today has
a huge advantage
in the Republican race, faces
four criminal charges
.
It is unclear today how many of those cases can be tried by jury during this election year.
The paradox is that the magnate
capitalizes on these trials electorally
because he presents himself as
a political target
of unfair trials promoted by a corrupt judicial system controlled by Democrats.
His followers believe him and become enraged at every failure.
Days ago, the former president had published on his social network Truth Social, a post in capital letters (screaming) with his argument why
immunity is necessary
: “A president of the United States must have total immunity, without which it would be impossible for assuming their functions.
Any mistake, even well-intentioned, would be met with an accusation from the opposition party at the end of his term.
Even events that “cross the line” must fall under full immunity or there will be years of trauma trying to determine right from wrong.
There must be certainty, for example: the police cannot be prevented from doing their job of stopping crime in a strong and effective way because they want to protect themselves from the occasional “rogue cop” or “bad apple.”
Sometimes you have to deal with the “good but maybe a little imperfect.”
Trump, who today has a huge advantage in the Republican race, faces four criminal charges.
Photo: Reuters
All presidents must have complete and total presidential immunity
or the authority or the president of the United States will be damaged and gone forever.
I hope it is an easy decision.”
Trump's lawyer explained at trial that hypothetically a ruling against Trump would lead to "cycles of recrimination" in which each former president is accused of a crime.
George W. Bush could be prosecuted for justifying the Iraq war with false information, he said;
Barack Obama could be prosecuted for drone strikes that killed civilians.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team, which brought the federal charges, argued that Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, which prosecutors say
led to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021,
were criminal and
did not constitute acts officials
who were covered by presidential immunity.
"There have never before been accusations that a sitting president, with private individuals and using the levers of power,
has sought to fundamentally subvert the democratic republic
and the electoral system," one of Smith's lawyers said in court.
"And frankly, if that kind of fact pattern were to emerge again, I think it would be terribly scary if there wasn't some kind of mechanism to get there criminally."