
A U.S. judge determined on Friday that Donald Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution for actions he took while serving as president.
The judge denied Trump’s request to have Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case dismissed, which accused him of trying to illegally overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan concluded that there was no legal basis to draw the conclusion that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution after leaving office. Trump, who held office from 2017 to 2021, is the front-runner for the Republican nomination to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 U.S. election.
“Whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States has only one chief executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” Chutkan wrote in her ruling.
Chutkan’s decision is the first by a U.S. court confirming that presidents can be charged with crimes like any other citizen because Trump is the first sitting or former president of the United States to be charged with a crime.
Additionally, the judge dismissed Trump’s claim that the charges go against his First Amendment rights to free speech in the United States. The lawsuit brought by Smith, according to Trump’s legal team, “attempts to criminalize core political speech and political advocacy.”
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche opted not to comment on the decision.
With Chutkan’s decision, Trump is one step closer to being tried by a jury on allegations that he planned to tamper with the electoral vote tallying and prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. Trump entered a not guilty plea and said that the prosecution was trying to harm his campaign.
March is when the trial is supposed to start. Trump has the right to immediately appeal the decision, which might cause the trial to be postponed while the Supreme Court and/or an appeals court consider the matter.
Trump is currently considering filing more motions to have the case dismissed on the grounds that his actions, as claimed by the prosecution, are not consistent with the accusations they made. In addition to the case that Smith is pursuing, Trump is also facing two additional indictments and state criminal charges in Georgia regarding his actions in an attempt to overturn his 2020 loss. He has also entered not guilty pleas in those cases.
Although the U.S. Justice Department has long maintained an internal policy prohibiting indicting a sitting president, prosecutors asserted that once a president leaves the White House, such restrictions are lifted.
With the broad argument that a president’s duties cannot be interfered with by criminal prosecution, Trump’s attorneys had declared that he is “absolutely immune” from charges stemming from official actions he took as president.
His legal team contended that criminal charges ought to be covered by the immunity granted to US presidents from civil lawsuits.
Prosecutors argued that Trump’s reasoning would fundamentally violate the Constitution’s core principles by placing the president of the United States above the law. (Reuters)
Be the first to comment