Trump is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the immunity suit

Former President of the United States, Donald Trump (2017-2021), appealed this Monday before Supreme Court a lower court decision that found the former president does not enjoy presidential immunity and should be prosecuted for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, inciting an attack on the Capitol.

Trump had until today to challenge the decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which is pending February 6 claimed that, leaving White Housethe former president became just another “citizen”, so he was no longer protected by the immunity he had in office.

The case is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, whose rulings could decide whether the former president faces trial in Washington before next November’s election.

The appeals court’s ruling is a major blow to Trump’s defense, which has turned the presidential immunity argument into a recurring weapon to try to delay the court calendar as much as possible and prevent it from dodging the November presidential race. , in which he starts as a big favorite for the Republican nomination.

Trump’s defensive arguments

The court ruling comes after Trump asked an appeals court on Dec. 24 to overturn a lower court judge’s decision to reject immunity claims made by his defense at the time.

In a filing with the appeals court, Trump’s legal team argued that the impeachment was unconstitutional because presidents cannot be prosecuted without first being convicted by the Senate. “Under our system of separation of powers, the judiciary cannot judge the official acts of the president,” said Trump’s lawyers, who said that on the day of the event, the former president was fulfilling his “official duties” and monitoring the integrity of the 2020 election.