An appeals court ruled on Tuesday that former President and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity when it comes to the case of the 2020 election.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the unanimous panel wrote. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.”
From The New York Post:
The decision marks the second time in as many months that judges have spurned Trump’s immunity arguments and held that he can be prosecuted for actions undertaken while in the White House and in the run-up to Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol. But it also sets the stage for additional appeals from the Republican ex-president that could reach the US Supreme Court. The trial was originally set for March, but it was postponed last week and the judge didn’t immediately set a new date.
The trial date carries enormous political ramifications, with the Republican primary front-runner hoping to delay it until after the November election. If Trump defeats President Biden, he could presumably try to use his position as head of the executive branch to order a new attorney general to dismiss the federal cases or he potentially could seek a pardon for himself.
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The Supreme Court has held that presidents are immune from civil liability for official acts, and Trump’s lawyers have argued for months that that protection should be extended to criminal prosecution as well.
More over at The New York Post:
Trump is not immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case, US appeals court says https://t.co/Ez98SJS9Il pic.twitter.com/TuZFRzPYTL
— New York Post (@nypost) February 6, 2024