Donald Trump, the former US President, is urging a federal appeals court to dismiss the federal election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC.
He argues that he is protected under presidential immunity.
Trump is seeking the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a lower-court ruling that rejected his claims of immunity in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case.
The appeals panel is currently considering Trump’s request, which the Supreme Court declined to expedite on Friday, as per Smith’s request.
The filing, reiterates the consistent assertion of Trump’s legal team that he was acting in his official capacity as president to “ensure election integrity” when he allegedly undermined the 2020 election results.
They argue that he has immunity and that his indictment is unconstitutional because presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for “official acts” unless they are impeached and convicted by the Senate.
Trump’s attorneys emphasized, “The Constitution establishes a powerful structural check to prevent political factions from abusing the formidable threat of criminal prosecution to disable the President and attack their political enemies.”
They further argued, “Before any single prosecutor can ask a court to sit in judgment of the President’s conduct, Congress must have approved of it by impeaching and convicting the President. That did not happen here, and so President Trump has absolute immunity.”
Trump has been seeking to delay his trial scheduled for March 4 in the case, with the dispute over the immunity claim reflecting those efforts.
The appeals court has expedited the consideration of his appeal, scheduling oral arguments for January 9.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the criminal case, has temporarily paused all procedural deadlines while the appeal is ongoing.
The US Supreme Court declined a request from Smith to immediately hear the case before the DC Circuit had an opportunity to weigh in.
Both parties will have the option to appeal the eventual ruling from the appeals court to the highest court.
