Trump’s Legal Team Files a Comprehensive Brief, Says Ex-Prez Has 'Absolute Immunity' From Prosecution

In a dramatic turn of events, former President Donald Trump's legal team submitted a 71-page late-night legal brief to the D.C. Court of Appeals, asserting that he should get 'absolute immunity' from prosecution. As per Politico, the team argued that a President cannot face criminal prosecution for actions conducted while in office unless impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for those specific acts.

"President Trump’s acquittal by the Senate bars prosecution for the conduct alleged in the indictment," the legal team contended in the filing, as per Mediaite. It continued, "Further, the acquittal reinforces President Trump’s immunity argument. Where, as here, the question is the amenability of the President to prosecution for an official act, the political concerns are at their apex. 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.”

This legal stance, however, faces scrutiny in light of the 1974 pardon of former President Richard Nixon by then-President Gerald Ford. The Trump team attempted to reinterpret Ford's action, suggesting that it reinforced their argument. The real estate mogul's lawyers said, "President Ford’s issuance of a prophylactic pardon to prevent a potentially bitter, protracted, divisive prosecution of a former President...reinforces the political and constitutional tradition against prosecuting Presidents—it does not undermine it."

During Trump's impeachment process in 2021, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell contradicted the 'absolute immunity' claim, asserting, "We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one."

Moving beyond the theoretical arguments, Trump's legal team has formally asked a federal appeals court to dismiss the criminal case alleging violations of criminal statutes related to the 2020 election. The attorneys contend that Trump's actions, as described by federal prosecutors, constitute quintessential presidential acts falling within his official duties.

The 71-page filing, addressed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, also requests a stay of any court order 'if it disagrees with him and his claims of presidential immunity,' as per CBS News. The team aims to present its case to the Supreme Court if the appeals court does not align with its position. Notably, Trump's legal team emphasized that no current or former president has ever been criminally prosecuted for official acts in the 234 years from 1789 to 2023; the filing read, "That unbroken tradition died this year, and the historical fallout is tremendous."

The ex-president's lawyers also contended that in the absence of the Senate's conviction (in his second impeachment trial in 2021), the criminal case should be thrown out lest it violate his protections against double jeopardy. However, the process of impeachment is a political one, not a criminal one, as enshrined in the Constitution. The trial is scheduled for March 4, and as this legal battle unfolds, Trump's argument is based on the belief that his actions were in the interest of the nation and not driven by personal gain.