Special Counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to respond by Dec. 30, after which a three-judge panel will hear oral arguments on Trump’s ‘immunity’ appeal of his D.C. indictment on Jan. 9
A federal appeals court should dismiss Donald Trump’s federal felony indictment on election-subversion charges on the grounds that he has “immunity” from prosecution for acts committed while president, attorneys for Trump argued in a court filing Saturday night.
The 71-page opening brief from Trump’s legal team took direct aim at Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal charges, calling them “unlawful and unconstitutional” because under the U.S. government system the judicial branch “cannot sit in judgment over a President’s official acts.”
Trump’s lawyers argue that the only way a current or former president can be charged for official acts is if he’s both impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. They also lean hard into an untested legal argument that Trump can’t be prosecuted for acts where he did get impeached but the Senate acquitted him.
the judicial branch “cannot sit in judgment over a President’s official acts.”
That’s the entire premise of checks and balances.
He’s never struck me as understanding the slightest thing about the role of president.
Also, the President has no official role in the elections process. At most, the Justice Department might investigate violations of the Voting Rights Act (what little remains), but the President wouldn’t be involved in this at all.
And instructing an armed crowd to march on Congress to stop the certification of the vote of DEFINITELY not in his official duties. So even if we accept that Presidents are immune while doing official duties (which they aren’t), then he’s still not immune.
A president tries to subvert an election has immunity from being prosecuted for trying to subvert an election.
That’s authoritarianism.
Trump’s lawyers argue that the only way a current or former president can be charged for official acts is if he’s both impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
So what Trump’s lawyers are arguing is that Biden should legally be able to wait until the last week (not enough time for an impeachment) of his holding of office, perform an extrajudicial imprisonment of Trump in Federal prison for a week, then leave office without any legal consequences because of immunity for acts performed while president without being impeached for it?
Under this interpretation, extrajudicial execution of TFG and all his congressional enablers (and problematic SCOTUS justices, and followers) would also be AOK. The law couldn’t touch him. Heck, with enough violence, he could head off any impeachment as well.
I don’t see SCOTUS handing that power to a Democrat.
Although knowing Democrats, they’d do nothing with the power, turn over power to Trump, and be wiped out on January 21st.
