Trump appeals presidential immunity ruling to Supreme Court

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the court to temporarily delay an appeals court decision saying presidential immunity did not protect him from charges related to his involvement in the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has alleged that Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election through his involvement in the Capitol riots. Trump has denied wrongdoing.

Why did the appeals court say that he didn’t have immunity? The Appeals Court for the District of Columbia last week ruled that, for his federal election interference trial, “former President Trump has become citizen Trump” and “executive immunity…no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

How did the trial court judge decide this? U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had previously denied a motion by Trump to dismiss the charges against him, due to his claimed presidential immunity. Chutkan argued that the presidency “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”

Didn’t the Supreme Court already do something with this case earlier? The Supreme Court previously denied a request by Smith to hear the case before the appeals court heard arguments on the case or issued an opinion. The Supreme Court last week heard arguments on whether Colorado could prevent Trump from appearing on its 2024 primary election ballots.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher’s discussion with Jenny Rough on The World and Everything in It podcast about the arguments before the court on the constitutionality of Colorado’s ballot ban.