US appeals court denies Trump's claim of presidential immunity in Jan. 6 case
'For purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump,' judges write in unanimous decision, which Trump is expected to appeal
WASHINGTON
A federal appeals court on Tuesday unanimously rejected former President Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity from prosecution on criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution,” the judges of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stated in their unanimous decision.
“We have balanced former President Trump’s asserted interests in executive immunity against the vital public interests that favor allowing this prosecution to proceed,” the three-judge panel wrote in a 57-page opinion.
Following the decision, which means the former president can be prosecuted for his actions in attempting to overturn the election results, Trump is expected to ask the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling made by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
He could also, before resorting to the Supreme Court, request an en banc review from the appeals court, meaning the case would be heard again by the full DC Circuit. This would also have the effect of further delaying resolution of his case, a move critics call part of a strategy to make sure no verdicts against him are issued before the US presidential election this November.
Tuesday’s decision came after the trial over Trump's alleged election interference, which was scheduled for March 4, was postponed Friday by US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan amid ongoing appeals about the power of the presidency.
The ruling brings a significant blow to Trump's primary defense strategy in the federal election subversion case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Smith is prosecuting Trump for criminally interfering in the 2020 election, while the former president’s legal team has been trying to get the election interference case thrown out on claims of presidential immunity.
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