Trump's immunity claim goes to appeals court

Prosecutors file to reject ex-president's claim in criminal case

Federal prosecutors asked an appeals court Saturday to reject former President Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from criminal charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election and said the indictment should remain in place even though it arose from actions he took while in the White House.

The government's filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was part of an ongoing struggle between Trump's lawyers and prosecutors in the office of special counsel Jack Smith over whether former presidents can be criminally liable for things they did in office.

The fight over immunity is arguably the most important aspect of the election interference case, involving both new questions of law and consequential issues of timing. The case is set to go to trial in U.S. District Court in Washington in early March but has been put on hold until Trump's attempts to dismiss the charges on grounds of immunity are resolved.

The appeal is legally significant because it centers on a question that has never before been asked or fully answered. That is because Trump is both the first former president to have been charged with crimes and because he has chosen to defend himself in this case with a novel claim: that the office he held at the time should shield him entirely from prosecution.

But the fight has revolved around more than the technical issue of whether the indictment should survive and Trump should eventually stand trial. The defense and prosecution have been waging a separate, but no less crucial, battle about when the trial will happen — specifically about whether it will take place before or after the 2024 election. If the trial is held after the election and Trump wins, he would have the power to order the charges he is facing to be dropped.

Oral arguments have been scheduled for Jan. 9.