Live: Trump attends hearing on presidential immunity – NewsNation Now
NewsNation
Tom Dempsey, Taylor Delandro
WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump returned to Washington to attend a federal appeals court hearing focused on whether he is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The outcome of the arguments carries enormous ramifications both for the landmark criminal case against Trump and for the broader, and legally untested, question of whether an ex-president can be prosecuted for acts committed in the White House.
Tuesday’s hearing features a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, and Judge Michelle Childs and Judge Florence Pan, both appointees of President Joe Biden.
Both parties are presenting oral arguments followed by a question-and-answer period with the legal teams.
During lengthy arguments, the judges repeatedly pressed Trump’s lawyer to defend claims that Trump was shielded from criminal charges for acts that he says fell within his official duties as president. That argument was rejected last month by a lower-court judge overseeing the case against Trump, and the appeals judges suggested through their questions that they, too, were dubious that the Founding Fathers envisioned absolute immunity for presidents after they leave office.
“I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal law,” Henderson said.
Former presidents enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits for actions taken as part of their official White House duties. But because no former president before Trump has ever been indicted, courts have never before addressed whether that protection extends to criminal prosecution.
Trump’s lawyers insist that it does, arguing that courts have no authority to scrutinize a president’s official acts and decisions and that the prosecution of their client represents a dramatic departure from more than two centuries of American history that would open the door to future “politically motivated” cases. They filed a similar motion Monday in another criminal case against Trump in Georgia.
“To authorize the prosecution of a president for his official acts would open a pandora’s box from which the nation may never recover,” said John Sauer, a lawyer for Trump.
He asked: “Could George W. Bush be prosecuted for obstruction of an official proceeding for allegedly giving false information to Congress to induce the nation to go to war in Iraq under false pretenses?”
However, the judges were repeatedly skeptical about those arguments. Pan noted to Sauer that his team concedes that former presidents can be prosecuted for official acts if they are impeached and convicted by the Senate.
She suggested that hurts his absolute immunity claims, telling Sauer that “once you concede that presidents can be prosecuted under some circumstances, your separation of powers argument falls away.”
The judges jumped right into questioning Trump’s lawyer over whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal at this time.
Additionally, Trump’s legal team argues all of the alleged criminal activity happened while Trump was in office, and his decisions to question the 2020 election results was within his duty as president.
Sauer said presidential immunity is a claim that is meant to be reviewed before trial. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team also said that it wants the court to decide the case now.
Despite the attorneys highlighting Trump’s acquittal in impeachment related to the Jan. 6 case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin, overseeing the trial, rejects this argument. The Special Counsel prosecuting Trump contends that a president can be prosecuted for illegal action to retain power.
“Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over. I was looking for voter fraud,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
He also accused President Joe Biden of weaponizing the Department of Justice.
However, during a speech in South Carolina on Monday, Biden took aim at Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.
“For hours the defeated former president sat in a private dining room from the Oval Office and did nothing. Nothing, absolutely nothing. His actions were among the worst dereliction of duty by any president in American history,” Biden said.
A swift ruling is anticipated in Tuesday’s hearing, potentially leading to an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from the losing side. Although the federal election interference trial was initially set for early March, it is currently on hold, awaiting the outcome of the appeals process.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. Navy sailor has been sentenced to just over two years in federal prison for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to a Chinese intelligence officer. Wenheng Zhao, 26, who is also known as Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, was sentenced Monday to 27 months by a federal judge in Los […]
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Rudolph’s unlikely renaissance will continue into the playoffs. Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he is sticking with the former third-string quarterback ahead of a trip to AFC East champion Buffalo (11-6) on Sunday. Rudolph is 3-0 as a starter since taking over for an ineffective Mitch Trubisky before a game […]
(NewsNation) — Residential addiction treatment centers in the U.S. that serve adolescents under 18 are limited and expensive, a new study reveals, despite increasing drug overdose deaths among teens. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, was led by researchers at Oregon Health and Science University who identified 160 facilities nationwide that treated teens […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have fired coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons with the franchise having won only six of the past 24 games, including blowing a third straight AFC South title in the 2022 season finale. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement that she told Vrabel of […]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company on Tuesday to give up on landing a spacecraft on the moon. Astrobotic Technology’s lander began losing fuel soon after Monday’s launch. The spacecraft also encountered problems keeping its solar panel pointed towards the sun and generating solar power. “Given the propellant […]
HOUSTON (AP) — After winning its first national championship in 26 years, Michigan heads into an uncertain future. Who stays, who goes and is a repeat possible in an expanded and loaded Big Ten that will include the Washington team the Wolverines beat 34-13 in the national championship game? The biggest question after Michigan wrapped […]
Police say a 24-year-old suspect recently used motels to rape and rob unsuspecting women.
LONDON (AP) — A 26-year-old man who tried to sell what he claimed was a walking stick used by the late Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced for defrauding eBay buyers. Dru Marshall, from Hampshire in southern England, claimed he was a senior footman at Windsor Castle and that the proceeds from the sale of […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel said he’d accept an apology from New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for inappropriate comments associating the comic with Jeffrey Epstein, but doesn’t expect one. “A decent person would apologize,” Kimmel said Monday during his first appearance on his late-night ABC show since Rodgers’ comments. “But he probably won’t.” […]