A federal appeals court just said Trump’s argument he cannot be charged for crimes related to plotting to subvert the 2020 election is bullshit.
On Tuesday morning, a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, told Donald Trump to get lost. That is, it rejected his claim that as a former president he has total immunity for actions he took while in the White House. Trump had cooked up this argument to challenge the indictment filed against him by special counsel Jack Smith, who hit Trump with four charges for illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The long-awaited 57-page ruling issued by the three-judge panel is not full of fiery rhetoric. But it does contain a few sharp punches aimed at Trump’s contention that a president should possess king-like power. Here are some excerpts.
The court said Trump has no special standing as a former president:
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.
Trump argued that potential prosecution in the future could chill presidential action. The court said, no way:
Former President Trump argues that criminal liability for former Presidents risks chilling Presidential action while in office and opening the floodgates to meritless and harassing prosecution. These risks do not overcome “the public interest in fair and accurate judicial proceedings,” which “is at its height in the criminal setting.”
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