Former President Trump will appeal a court ruling that he is not immune from criminal prosecution, his campaign said Tuesday, setting up a likely fight at the Supreme Court.
“Prosecuting a President for official acts violates the Constitution and threatens the bedrock of our Republic. President Trump respectfully disagrees with the DC Circuit’s decision and will appeal it in order to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung echoed the argument Trump himself has made repeatedly in recent weeks, claiming that without total immunity, presidents would be subject to prosecution upon leaving office and would not be able to do their jobs.
“Deranged Jack Smith’s prosecution of President Trump for his Presidential, official acts is unconstitutional under the doctrine of Presidential Immunity and the Separation of Powers,” Cheung said.
A three-judge appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that deemed Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution as a former executive, blocking his effort to toss his federal 2020 election interference case on those grounds.
“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the panel for the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its 57-page decision.
“We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count,” the judges wrote in the decision.
Trump is facing four felony charges in D.C. over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results and remain in power. He is facing separate criminal cases in New York, Georgia and Florida.
Tuesday’s ruling effectively forces him to appeal to the Supreme Court by Feb. 12.
After that date, the D.C. Circuit panel said it would return the case to the trial court, unless Trump seeks emergency relief from the justices. In that scenario, the trial proceedings would remain on pause until the Supreme Court acts.