Setback for plain ‘Citizen Trump’
WASHINGTON: A US court has emphatically shut down Donald Trump’s sweeping claim of presidential immunity over his allegedly criminal effort to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, paving the way for the former president to be put on trial.
But Mr Trump is expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, further delaying the election interference trial that had been set for March and reducing the chance of the bombshell case being resolved before an expected rematch with Joe Biden in November.
In a bid to clear the former president, who is all but certain to seal the Republican nomination within weeks, his lawyers tried to claim a president would be immune from prosecution even if they directed the US military to assassinate a political opponent.
Their claim was unanimously rejected by a threejudge panel at the US Court of Appeals, marking a major defeat for Mr Trump in his battle to avoid conviction in an unprecedented four criminal cases totalling 91 charges.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former president Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defences of any other criminal defendant,” the panel determined.
“Any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution.”
On the eve of the verdict, Mr Trump said: “If immunity is not granted to a president, every president who leaves office will be indicted by the opposing party. Without complete immunity, a president of the United States would not be able to function properly.”
Mr Trump’s expected appeal to the Supreme Court is part of a broader strategy to delay the criminal proceedings against him until after this year’s election. If re-elected, Mr Trump could dismiss the federal charges he is facing and pardon himself if he is convicted.