The U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Donald Trump's Plea for Absolute Immunity

Former president Donald Trump suffered a major blow this week in court when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a panel consisting of three judges, dismissed Trump's argument that his official duties as president preclude him from prosecution. The court order stated that the 2024 GOP frontrunner has 'no immunity' against accusations that he planned to reverse his electoral defeat in 2020. "We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter," the unanimous panel wrote. Whatever executive immunity may have kept Trump free from prosecution when he was president "no longer protects him against this prosecution," the court found. 

Trump lashed out on his Truth Social saying,"Without Presidential Immunity, the Presidency will lose its power and prestige, and under some Leaders, have no power at all. The Presidency will be consumed by the other Branches of Government. That is not what our Founders wanted!" Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, said in a statement, “If immunity is not granted to a president, every future president who leaves office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party. Without complete immunity, a president of the United States would not be able to properly function!” Cheung wrote. “President Trump respectfully disagrees with the DC Circuit’s decision and will appeal it in order to safeguard the presidency and the Constitution.” 

As per Reuters, in its verdict, the panel stated that granting Trump immunity in this instance would grant presidents "unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results." Ultimately, the judges determined that there was no "functional justification" for fully shielding former presidents from federal prosecution, even when their activities were connected to their official duties. In his not-guilty plea to four felony counts, Trump charged that the prosecution was working for political gain to harm his campaign. Trump filed an appeal after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected the immunity argument in December.

As per The NYTimes, the three judges viewed the republican leader's assertions of immunity as a threat to the country's constitutional order. “At bottom, former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the president beyond the reach of all three branches,” they wrote. “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. We cannot accept that the office of the presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.” The tribunal heard arguments from Trump's legal team over immunity almost a month before making its final decision. The three judges—President Biden's nominees, Judges Florence Y. Pan and J. Michelle Childs—as well as previous President George H.W. Bush's appointee Karen L. Henderson issued the unsigned ruling.