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A federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., has ruled that former President Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution in the January 6th case.
Trump has argued that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken in office, unless they are first impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found unanimously that Trump cannot invoke presidential immunity against the four-count indictment alleging he conspired to overturn the 2020 election.
The hearing last month churned a wide ranging discussions after Trump’s attorneys stated plainly that presidents could essentially be protected from criminal conviction even for ordering a hit on his political enemies — so long as that president is not impeached and convicted by Congress.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case brought by Smith, already ruled that Trump is not immune from prosecution. The outcome of this side litigation over the presidential immunity argument could derail the eventual trial, which was initially slated for March 4 but has been pushed back.
The former president is now likely to seek a review of the decision from the full D.C. Circuit, or if denied, appeal his immunity argument to the Supreme Court, which could be the ultimate decider of the question.