A sketch depicts Donald Trump listening to his attorney John Sauer speak before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington DC on January 9, 2023. Photo: AP.
Lawyers for former US President Donald Trump argued that the country “may never recover” if an appeals court in Washington DC allows the case against the former president to proceed. The government believes Trump could be criminally charged for a speech he gave while in office.
Trump arrived in federal court Tuesday, where a three-judge panel heard arguments on whether a former president can be criminally responsible for actions taken while in office. position or not. Their final decision will determine whether Trump can be tried on three counts of conspiracy for the speech he gave before his supporters rioted at the US Capitol on January 6. /202 or not.
Government prosecutor Jack Smith charged Trump in August, arguing that the speech – in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” against President Joe Biden’s election victory – had inciting riots.
“Allowing the prosecution of a president for his official acts would open a Pandora’s box from which this country may not will ever recover”.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the speeches were part of his “official responsibilities as president” and that he was therefore immune from legal consequences.
Smith disagreed and tried to bring the case to the Supreme Court in December so that Trump’s criminal trial could begin as planned this March. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case and sent it back to the appeals court. Whatever the outcome, the losing side will likely take it back to the Supreme Court.
“Can George W. Bush be prosecuted for obstructing an official proceeding for allegedly providing false information to Congress to incite the nation to go to war in Iraq under false pretenses? ” – lawyer Sauer asked the court. “Can President Obama be charged with murder for allegedly authorizing drone strikes targeting US citizens abroad?”
“You can’t have a president without immunity,” Trump told reporters after the hour-long hearing ended. “As president, you have to be able to do your job.”
“If I am not immune, then dishonest Joe Biden is not immune either,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday. Trump, who is expected to be Biden’s opponent in this year’s presidential election, then suggested that the current president would be “ripe for accusations” over his handling of border security, his ” surrendered” Afghanistan to the Taliban and was accused of peddling foreign influence. .
In addition to leading the Jan. 6 case, Smith also oversaw the prosecution of Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents, a case that will be heard in district court in Florida. Trump also faces state charges in Georgia and New York, and countless civil lawsuits. He has denied four criminal charges against him as part of a Democratic-led plot to prevent him from defeating Biden in the election.
