The federal prosecutor’s office opposed yesterday Thursday in the effort of the former president USA Donald Trump to go into the file without any further criminal prosecution against him, invoking the “full immunity” he argued he enjoyed when he was in the White House.
“No one in this country, not even the president, is above the law”special counsel Jack Smith’s team countered in a 54-page brief to the judge presiding over the case, urging her to reject Mr. Trump’s request.
The tycoon, a heavy favorite in the Republican party’s internal process to emerge as their candidate in the 2024 presidential election, is expected to be brought to trial in March in the capital. He is accused of maneuvering to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, in which he was defeated by Joe Biden.
In early October, the former president’s lawyers filed a petition with federal judge Tanya Chatkan in which they stated that “the court should permanently dismiss the prosecution without continuation, due to presidential immunity.”
Citing a case involving former President Richard Nixon, which had been examined by the Supreme Court, the advocates asserted that US law guarantees “absolute” immunity to the president for acts that fall “within the ‘outer perimeter’ of his official responsibilities” .
“The current administration has prosecuted (former) President Trump for acts that fell not only on the ‘outer perimeter’ but also at the heart of his official duties as president.”they added.
As head of state, they continued, Mr Trump had a duty to “ensure the integrity of the election” and thus a right to challenge the outcome of the 2020 process.
Donald Trump “is subject to federal criminal law, as are more than 330 million other Americans,” countered Special Counsel Smith’s team, adding that “no court has ever addressed the existence of blanket criminal immunity for former presidents.”
Mr. Trump’s request has little chance of being granted, experts say, but could delay the start of the process if it reaches the Supreme Court.
The Republican is the first former president in US history to face criminal charges. The court schedule is announced heavy for the billionaire. The 77-year-old is also being prosecuted in New York state for accounting fraud, a case linked to the payment of money to a porn star to buy her silence, and in Georgia, also for trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
Source: News Beast
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