By The opinion
Dec 24, 2023, 11:13 AM EST
The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, asked an appeals court in Washington to dismiss a federal complaint against him for the assault on the Capitolclaiming presidential immunity.
In a brief sent on Saturday night to the federal circuit court in Columbia, Trump requests that it annul the decision of a lower instance judge who at the time rejected the immunity claims put forward by his team of lawyers.
The request comes two days after the United States Supreme Court refused to urgently study whether the former president (2017-2021) has immunity in this federal case, as requested by special prosecutor Jack Smith.
In the brief to the appeals court, Trump’s legal team points out that the impeachment is unconstitutional because presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted unless they are first convicted by the Senate.
“Under our system of separation of powers, The judiciary cannot judge the official acts of a president”, point out Trump’s lawyers, who allege that on the day of the events the former president was fulfilling his “official duties” and monitoring the integrity of the 2020 elections.
The argument of presidential immunity has become a recurring weapon for Trump’s lawyers, who seek to lengthen the process and postpone the start date of this federal case as much as possible.
Friday’s rejection by the Supreme Court was a serious blow to Smith’s strategywho on two occasions asked the high court to rule urgently on the immunity of former presidents from federal charges, thus bypassing lower courts.
Trump is accused of inciting the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and faces prosecution for several crimes, the most serious being conspiracy to obstruct an official procedure, which could lead to a maximum of 55 years in prison.
The trial is scheduled for March 4, 2024 in the federal capitalone day before ‘Super Tuesday’, the big day of the primary elections, but now it could be delayed because the appeals court will have to study the question of immunity.
Trump received a blow last Wednesday from the Colorado Supreme Court, which expelled the former president from the Republican primaries in that state for his role in the assault on the Capitol.
With information from Efe.
Keep reading:
– Trump is indicted on criminal charges for his interference in the 2020 elections
– Trump asks Supreme Court to reject special counsel and stay out of immunity dispute
– Prosecutor Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court for a “final ruling” on Trump’s immunity