Trump urges federal appeals court to grant him immunity in election subversion case

Donald Trump. File pic

Former US President Donald Trump has urged a federal appeals court to throw out the federal election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC, arguing that he is protected under presidential immunity, CNN reported.

Trump wants the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower-court ruling rejecting his claims of immunity in special counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case. The appeals panel is weighing Trump's request, which the Supreme Court on Friday refused to take up on an expedited basis, as Smith requested.

As per CNN, the filing reiterates what the former president's lawyers have repeatedly asserted: that Trump was working in his official capacity as president to "ensure election integrity" when he allegedly undermined the 2020 election results and therefore 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 wrote on Saturday: "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."

"Before any single prosecutor can ask a court to sit in judgement of the President's conduct, Congress must have approved of it by impeaching and convicting the President," they wrote. "That did not happen here, and so President Trump has absolute immunity."

The former president has been attempting to delay his March 4 trial in the case, with his fight over the immunity claim underscoring those efforts, as per CNN.

The appeals court has expedited its consideration of his appeal, and it's set to hear oral arguments in the matter on January 9. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing his criminal case, temporarily paused all procedural deadlines in the case while the appeal played out.

On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected a request from Smith for the justices to immediately hear the case before the DC Circuit had a chance to weigh in. Both sides will have the option of appealing the eventual ruling from the appeals court back up to the highest court.

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