In a 71-page filing to the Court of Appeals in Washington DC late on December 23, former President Trump's lawyers argued that he was exempt from legal liability for actions he took while in the White House, according to Politico .
Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Iowa on December 19.
Earlier, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the Washington DC District Court, who is considering the prosecution of Mr. Trump on charges of overturning the election results in this locality, ruled against Mr. Trump's argument that he had immunity. "The United States has only one commander in chief... former presidents enjoy no special rights with respect to their federal criminal liability," Ms. Chutkan stated.
Former President Trump is facing four criminal charges related to conspiracy to commit fraud and prevent the certification of the election results on January 6.
In their latest filing with the appeals court, the defense team said the prosecution’s allegations focused primarily on Mr. Trump’s efforts to lobby state and federal officials to overturn the election results, which they argued was well within the president’s official duty to ensure the fairness of the election.
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Mr Trump's lawyers have repeatedly argued that the actions he took were on behalf of the country, not himself.
The legal team also stressed that under the US Constitution, one branch of government cannot rule on the other. "Under our system of separation of powers, the judicial branch cannot rule on the official actions of a president (the executive branch)," Trump's lawyer D. John Sauer wrote in the filing.
At the same time, they argued that the only way Mr. Trump could be prosecuted was after he was impeached and convicted by Congress . "That has not happened and therefore President Trump has absolute immunity," the lawyers argued.
According to The Hill , the argument in the case at the appeals court will take place on January 9, 2024 and the verdict is expected to be issued in March 2024.
Meanwhile, Judge Chutkan has set March 4, 2024 as the date for the trial of the case to overturn the election results in Washington DC. However, Mr. Trump's request for the appeals court to consider the immunity from liability has disrupted the proceedings in the lower court and put the trial date at risk of being postponed.
Politico reported that special prosecutor Jack Smith had asked the US Supreme Court to intervene to speed up the process, but the request was rejected. Mr. Smith also made a similar request to the appeals court, but no decision has been made.
According to The Guardian , in the event that the election interference trial is delayed and Mr. Trump wins the election next year, he could simply order all federal charges against him to be dropped.
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