(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a disheartening legal defeat for the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump, a federal appeals court has decided that the former president enjoys no presidential immunity in the 2020 election subversion case initiated against him last year by the US Justice Department.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled unanimously against Trump’s legal immunity claims with respect to the federal charges accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 election – including the January 6, 2021, events at the US Capitol.
“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,” reads the ruling, cited by National Review.
The report describes the decision as a significant defeat for the 45th president of the United States, who had argued his presidential immunity shielded him from prosecution for actions taken before his term ended.
“[Trump] allegedly injected himself into a process in which the President has no role — the counting and certifying of the Electoral College votes — thereby undermining constitutionally established procedures and the will of the Congress,” the DC Circuit ruling reads further.
It emphasized that Trump did not have immunity from criminal prosecution under constitutional principles, including the separation of powers or the Impeachment Judgment Clause.
“Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches. Presidential immunity against federal indictment would mean that, as to the President, the Congress could not legislate, the Executive could not prosecute and the Judiciary could not review,” the appeals judges concluded.
They also noted that the United States Constitution did not intend for impeachment to prevent future criminal charges.
Trump’s legal team is now expected to appeal this ruling to the US Supreme Court – or request a full-court review by the DC Circuit’s eleven judges instead of just the three-judge panel.
“President Trump respectfully disagrees with the DC Circuit’s decision and will appeal it in order to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution,” declared Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
To prevent the immunity ruling from taking effect immediately, Trump must submit an emergency-stay request to the Supreme Court by February 12.
