The magnate will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court “to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution”
A US federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump does not have immunity derived from his former position that would prevent him from being tried for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, giving free rein to one of the main judicial fronts that are open on this issue.
Trump has based much of his defense on the fact that, as president, he cannot even be examined by the cases that special counsel Jack Smith has opened. According to the former president, his movements fell within his official powers and, therefore, he is immune.
However, the court has determined that, when it comes to this case, “former President Trump has become Citizen Trump.” “Any executive immunity that could have protected him when he served as president no longer protects him,” the three judges concluded in a unanimous ruling.
A spokesman for the former president’s electoral campaign, Steven Cheung, has reported in a statement that Trump “respectfully disagrees with the decision”, which is why he will appeal to the Supreme Court “to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution”, according to collected The Hill.
“If the president is not granted immunity, any future president who leaves the Oval Office will immediately be impeached by the opposing party,” he argued, reiterating that without presidential immunity no Presidency “will be able to function properly.”
Likewise, Cheung has affirmed that the prosecution of the tycoon by the “deranged” prosecutor Jack Smith “for his official and presidential acts is unconstitutional under the doctrine of presidential immunity and the separation of powers.”
The tycoon, who faces a total of four charges for alleged electoral fraud, had already received a first rejection from a Washington court in December. The judge who ruled then pointed out that being president does not automatically grant “a lifetime pass to get out of jail.”
