Ex-US President Donald Trump’s battle to save his political life continues as he asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that he does not have presidential immunity from prosecution.
Recently, a three-judge panel from the DC Circuit court ruled that “any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against prosecution”.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued that presidents are immune from prosecution for possible crimes committed while they are in office, even after they leave the White House. In their filing the lawyers stated that he should not be tried during an election campaign. “Conducting a months-long criminal trial of President Trump at the height of election season will radically disrupt President Trump’s ability to campaign against President Biden.”
His lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to put the ruling on hold pending appeal or allow for a review of the case by all active judges on the DC Circuit court.
BBC reports that his lawyers had in the filing, warned that denying the former president immunity would set a precedent where “such prosecutions will recur and become increasingly common”. “Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the Presidency as we know it will cease to exist,” they argued.
Mr Trump, a front-runner in November’s Presidential Election, faces three other criminal trials. He faces charges in Georgia for an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. A seven-count indictment over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, and the alleged concealment of a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has however, pleaded not guilty against all the charges, as his legal team has made several attempts to delay his criminal trials until after the 2024 election.
It remains unclear when and what the Supreme Court might rule on Trump’s request.
