A Washington court has cast doubt on Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 elections. At the same time, the former US president warned Tuesday that he may sue Joe Biden if he returns to the White House.
Donald Trump's legal team tried to convince a three-judge panel that former presidents should not be tried for actions they took while in office. Trump is scheduled to stand trial next March on federal charges related to election subversion. The justices reacted skeptically to this argument.
Judge Florence Bahn asked Trump’s lawyer, Dr. John Sawyer: “Are you saying that the president can sell pardons, he can sell military secrets, and he can order a military force to assassinate a political rival?” Sawyer responded by explaining that a former president could only be accused of such behavior if he were impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
Trump did not address the court, nor did he speak to the media waiting outside the court. However, he spoke calmly to his lawyer several times during the hearing. With the start of the Republican primaries scheduled for next week, Trump used the session to claim that he is a victim of political persecution.
In a video posted on social media before the hearing, Trump said he might sue Democratic President Joe Biden if he wins the presidential election in November. “If I don't get immunity, corrupt Joe Biden won't get immunity,” Trump said. “Joe is ready to be indicted,” he threatened.
“Pandora's box”
The US Department of Justice has long held that presidents cannot be prosecuted while carrying out their official duties. Trump, the first former US president to be criminally prosecuted, faces 91 criminal charges in four separate cases.
Trump's lawyer, Sawyer, told a three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that allowing the trial to go forward would lead to a cycle of retaliation after every election and “open a Pandora's box that the nation could be exposed to.” You never recover from it.”
The lawyer said that presidents must first be impeached and removed from office by Congress before they can be tried. Trump was the target of two impeachments, but the Senate did not convict him.
US prosecutors say Trump was acting as a candidate and not as president when he pressured authorities to overturn the election results and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
No one is above the law
Attorney General James Pearce told the committee that the case against Trump reflects the unprecedented nature of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and granting him immunity for those actions “would give future presidents a license to commit crimes.” He explained, “The president has a unique constitutional role, but he is not above the law.”
This case is one of four criminal cases that Trump will face this year as the election campaign continues, which will take place on November 5th.
Trump's immunity request has already been rejected by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case. But it may take several weeks or months to reach a resolution on appeal. Any ruling issued by the Court of Appeals will almost certainly be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
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