CNN Politics
Court rules Trump does not have immunity from 2020 election subversion prosecution
Updated 12:09 p.m. ET, February 6, 2024
What we're covering here
The latest: Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
The charges against Trump: The ruling is a major blow to Trump’s key defense thus far in the federal election subversion case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith. Trump faces four counts from the case, including conspiring to defraud the United States and to obstruct an official proceeding, and he has pleaded not guilty.
What happens next: The appeals court has set up a very fast schedule for Trump to ask Supreme Court to block the immunity ruling, giving him until Monday to file an emergency stay request with the court.
13 Posts
SORT BY
Latest
30 min ago
Judges say no president "has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote"
From CNN's Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz, Katelyn Polantz and Marshall Cohen
In its ruling that former President Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity in the January 6 case, a federal appeals court said his immunity claims would reject "the most fundamental check on executive power."
"We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count."
In addition, they said that Trump's stance "would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches."
"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," they said.
5 min ago
"An unprecedented assault": Judges issue scathing opinion on Trump's behavior in 2020
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
Former US President Donald Trump stands on stage during his primary night rally in Nashua, New Hampshire, on January 23.
Former US President Donald Trump stands on stage during his primary night rally in Nashua, New Hampshire, on January 23. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Throughout their opinion, Judges J. Michelle Childs, Florence Pan and Karen LeCraft Henderson repeatedly eviscerated former President Donald Trump’s behavior after the 2020 presidential election as unpresidential and constituting an assault on an American institutions.
“Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary authority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct,” the panel of judges wrote.
Their scathing opinion describes the former president as using his seat of power to “unlawfully overstay his term as President and to displace his duly elected successor,” all which would violate “generally applicable criminal laws.”
Even his stances in court, the judges wrote, stand in contrast to the principle that all Americans – including former presidents – are subject to the same laws.
28 min ago
Courts can try a former president who faced impeachment proceeding in Congress, appellate judges say
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has made a forceful finding in its opinion that it is the federal courts' responsibility to handle the criminal prosecution of a former president.
One question that has come up repeatedly in this case is if the court system has the ability to try a former president who faced an impeachment proceeding in Congress, and if they can look at the presidential immunity question before a trial.
On both fronts, the appellate judges said they could.
The judicial branch of the federal government is permitted "to oversee the federal criminal prosecution of a former President for his official acts because the fact of the prosecution means that the former President has allegedly acted in defiance of the Congress's laws ... Here former President Trump's actions allegedly violated generally applicable criminal laws, meaning those acts were not properly within the scope of his lawful discretion," they said.
While a president and even others in the government, like legislators and judges, could be protected from lawsuits, they can be criminally prosecuted, the court said.
16 min ago
Trump campaign says former president will be appealing immunity ruling
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Waldorf Astoria hotel after attending his hearing at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, on January 9.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Waldorf Astoria hotel after attending his hearing at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, on January 9. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
The Trump 2024 campaign responded to the ruling that former President Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results.
"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!" according to the campaign's Steven Cheung.
Cheung said Trump would be appealing the decision.
The campaign also issued a fundraising appeal after the ruling.
16 min ago
Appeals court gives Trump until February 12 to ask Supreme Court to block immunity ruling
From CNN's Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz, Katelyn Polantz, Marshall Cohen, John Fritze and Holmes Lybrand
A person jogs in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on January 31.
A person jogs in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on January 31. Julia Nikhinson/AFP/Getty Images
The appeals court has set up a very fast schedule for Donald Trump to ask the Supreme Court to block their ruling rejecting his claims of immunity from criminal prosecution.
The court is giving Trump until February 12 to file an emergency stay request with the Supreme Court, which would stop the clock while his attorneys craft a more substantive appeal on the merits. If he is successful with that, the criminal trial will not resume until after the high court decides what to do with his request for a pause.
If Trump does not appeal the ruling, the case would be sent back to the trial-level court in Washington, DC, as soon as next week for his trial to continue.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s office declined to comment.
1 hr 18 min ago
White House and Biden campaign decline to weigh in on Trump immunity ruling
From CNN's Arlette Saenz
US President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House after arriving in Washington, DC, on Monday, February 5.
US President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House after arriving in Washington, DC, on Monday, February 5. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty images
The White House and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign have declined to weigh in on the federal appeals court ruling that former President Donald Trump has no presidential immunity in the January 6 case.
It tracks with their strategy thus far to largely steer clear of commenting on Trump’s legal drama. Biden has argued Trump poses a direct threat to democracy, including his actions in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, but the president has largely refrained from using the twists and turns of the legal cases against him as part of his arguments, in part, to avoid any appearance of political interference.
Biden is scheduled to appear before reporters at 11:45 a.m. ET today to speak about the bipartisan border deal and foreign aid package.
1 hr 23 min ago
Read the appeals court's ruling on Trump's presidential immunity
Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
The ruling from the three-judge panel was unanimous.
Read the ruling:
23 min ago
Appeals court says it would be "striking paradox" if a president were allowed to defy the law
From CNN's Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz, Katelyn Polantz and Marshall Cohen
A court sketch depicts former President Donald Trump, seated right, listening as his attorney John Sauer, standing, speaks before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, January 9.
A court sketch depicts former President Donald Trump, seated right, listening as his attorney John Sauer, standing, speaks before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, January 9. Bill Hennessy
In the opinion finding that Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution, the three appeals court judges found that if proven, the former president’s efforts to usurp the 2020 presidential election were an "unprecedented assault on the structure of our government."
“It would be a striking paradox if the President, who alone is vested with the constitutional duty to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ were the sole officer capable of defying those laws with impunity,” they wrote.
The judges flatly rejected Trump’s claim that his criminal indictment would have a “chilling effect” on future presidents.
Trump’s attorneys had argued that if future chief executives believed that they could be indicted for their “official acts” as president, they would be more hesitant to act within their role.
"We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter. Careful evaluation of these concerns leads us to conclude that there is no functional justification for immunizing former Presidents from federal prosecution in general or for immunizing former President Trump from the specific charges in the Indictment," the appeals court judges also said.
In rejecting Trump’s immunity arguments, the appeals panel also said the public interest in holding a potentially criminal president accountable outweighed the potential negative impacts on the office of the presidency.
But the court was clear to explicitly note that they weren’t offering any commentary on the potential implications of prosecuting a sitting president – which didn’t happen in this case.
1 hr 27 min ago
Some background on the election subversion charges Trump is facing
From CNN's Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz
Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
Trump faces four counts from special counsel Jack Smith's election subversion charges, including conspiring to defraud the United States and to obstruct an official proceeding. The former president has pleaded not guilty.
Trump has argued that he was working to “ensure election integrity” as part of his official capacity as president, and therefore he is immune from criminal prosecution for trying to overturn the election results. His lawyers have also asserted that because Trump was acquitted by the Senate during impeachment proceedings, he is protected by double jeopardy and cannot be charged by the Justice Department for the same conduct.
So what happens now? The immunity question is ultimately expected to end up before the Supreme Court, one of several consequential cases the high court will take up related to Trump this year.
1 hr 9 min ago
Appeals court unanimously rules Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution
From CNN's Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz and Katelyn Polantz
Judges J. Michelle Childs, Florence Pan and Karen LeCraft Henderson
Judges J. Michelle Childs, Florence Pan and Karen LeCraft Henderson Getty Images/AP/From ALM
The three-judge appeals court panel that issued the ruling Tuesday includes two judges, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, who were appointed by Joe Biden and one, Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was appointed by George H.W. Bush.
In their unanimous opinion, the appeals court found that former President Donald Trump is not protected from criminal prosecution under the separation of powers clause.
“Here, former President Trump’s actions allegedly violated generally applicable criminal laws, meaning those acts were not properly within the scope of his lawful discretion,” they wrote, meaning that existing case law “provide him no structural immunity from the charges in the Indictment.”
They continued: “Properly understood, the separation of powers doctrine may immunize lawful discretionary acts but does not bar the federal criminal prosecution of a former President for every official act.”
The three appeals court judges said that Trump asked them to find “for the first time that a former President is categorically immune from federal criminal prosecution for any act conceivably within the outer perimeter of his executive responsibility,” they wrote.
1 hr 7 min ago
Trump does not have immunity from prosecution for 2020 election reversal gambits, federal appeals court rules
From CNN's Devan Cole and Hannah Rabinowitz
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Sunday, January 21.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Sunday, January 21. Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
The ruling is a major blow to Trump’s key defense thus far in the federal election subversion case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith. The former president had argued that the conduct Smith charged him over was part of his official duties as president and therefore shield him from criminal liability.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution,” the court wrote.
Trump’s team could appeal the ruling directly to the Supreme Court, or first ask for en banc review at the appeals court, meaning the case would be heard again, but this time by the full DC Circuit.
1 hr 57 min ago
Federal appeals court issues ruling on Trump immunity claims
From CNN's Devan Cole and Hannah Rabinowitz
A federal appeals court has issued a ruling on Donald Trump’s claims of absolute presidential immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office.
CNN is reviewing the decision from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
1 hr 36 min ago
Key takeaways from the January appeals court hearing on Trump’s immunity claims
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole
A federal appeals panel expressed deep skepticism early January toward Donald Trump’s argument that he can’t be prosecuted for trying to overturn the 2020 election, raising the potentially extreme implications of absolute presidential immunity.
Trump’s lawyers argued that his federal election subversion indictment should be dismissed because he is immune from prosecution. But the three judges on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit panel questioned whether this immunity theory championed by Trump’s lawyers would allow presidents to sell pardons or even assassinate political opponents.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team argued that a president is not above the law, warning that allowing presidential immunity from prosecution would open a “floodgate” and saying that it would be “awfully scary” if there were no criminal mechanism to stop future president’s from usurping the vote and remaining in power.
Still, the judges also wondered if they even have jurisdiction to decide the question of presidential immunity at this point in the case. Trump is scheduled to go on trial in March for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
Trump chose to attend the hearing – a reminder of the role that his four criminal indictments are playing in his presidential campaign.
The appeals court ruling is likely to set up a showdown over presidential immunity at the Supreme Court.
Here are the key takeaways from the oral arguments.
No comments:
Post a Comment