Dec. 25 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal appeals court to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith’s case against him for alleged federal election interference, saying he’s protected by presidential immunity.
He filed the request with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday, one day after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the question of Trump’s immunity.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he should be protected by presidential immunity for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and that his efforts were part of his “duty as president.”
“The structure of our government, the text of the Constitution and its early commentators, common-law immunity doctrines, our political history, the Supreme Court’s analogous immunity doctrines, and the policy considerations rooted in the separation of powers all dictate that no president, current or former, may be criminally prosecuted for his official acts unless he is first impeached and convicted by the Senate,” the filing said.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters descended upon the U.S. Capitol and violently protested the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election win. The Senate, however, acquitted him of charges.
Smith sought a fast judgment from the Supreme Court on Trump’s claims of immunity, but the high court declined to take up the matter. The court declined to explain its decision.
“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin,” Smith’s filing with the high court said.
“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected.”
The Supreme Court placed the issue back in the hands of the D.C. appellate court. Smith said the appeal “suspends the trial of the charges against [Trump], scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024.”
A federal district court previously rejected Trump’s immunity claims.
