Trump shifts focus from Iowa to DC federal court

Former President Trump is leaving the campaign trail to appear in a Washington, D.C., federal court Tuesday, a move certain to bring his legal travails into the limelight just a week before the Iowa caucuses. 

Trump’s legal troubles only appear to have helped him in his fight for the GOP presidential nomination so far, and there’s little reason to think Tuesday’s trip will change that, especially when it comes to depriving his top two primary rivals, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, of media attention.

It’s Trump’s first visit to the federal courthouse blocks from the Capitol building since he pleaded not guilty to four federal charges he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. 

Trump’s attorneys are set to argue before a three-judge appeals court panel that the former president is immune from the indictment because he was acting in his official capacity, a high-stakes proceeding that could get the case tossed. 

While Trump is not required to be at Tuesday’s proceeding, he announced publicly that he plans to be in the courtroom when his lawyers appear — a clear sign he thinks it will help, not hurt, his efforts in Iowa.

Trump is the front-runner for the GOP nomination and has a 34-point lead in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s aggregate of polls. 

If special counsel Jack Smith attends Tuesday’s arguments, it would mark the third time he and Trump come face-to-face. Smith has regularly appeared for previous hearings in the case. 

Trump contends his criminal case must be tossed because he has immunity from criminal prosecution, and he argues that the prosecution amounts to unconstitutional double jeopardy after his impeachment and eventual acquittal in the Senate over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

“During the 234 years from 1789 to 2023, no current or former President had ever been criminally prosecuted for official acts,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in court filings. 

“That unbroken tradition died this year, and the historical fallout is tremendous,” they continued.

“The indictment of President Trump threatens to launch cycles of recrimination and politically motivated prosecution that will plague our Nation for many decades to come and stands likely to shatter the very bedrock of our Republic—the confidence of American citizens in an independent judicial system.” 

The special counsel’s office has argued that the “principle of accountability” for criminal acts plays as vital a role as the presidency in America’s constitutional system.  

“Rather than vindicating our constitutional framework, the defendant’s sweeping immunity claim threatens to license Presidents to commit crimes to remain in office,” prosecutors wrote in court filings. “The Founders did not intend and would never have countenanced such a result.” 

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of former President Obama, is overseeing the trial proceedings and previously sided with prosecutors by rejecting Trump’s argument, declaring that the office of the presidency “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.” The former president then appealed. 

The battle is as much about timing as it is about the merits of Trump’s argument. 

Trump’s trial is currently scheduled for March 4, the first of any of his four criminal cases. But Smith’s team concedes that the immunity issue can be appealed before the case gets to a jury, meaning a lengthy appeals process could push back the date. 

Doing so would aid Trump’s broader goal of delaying the case until after Election Day. If Trump returns to the White House, he could shut down the D.C. case and Smith’s other prosecution while simultaneously attempting to halt two state prosecutions during his term. 

In an attempt to preserve the current timeline, Smith had sought to leapfrog the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and go straight to the Supreme Court. But the justices last month declined his request, enabling the battle to proceed through the longer, normal process. 

Many legal experts believe that the issue is destined for the Supreme Court eventually. 

The D.C. Circuit panel is hearing the case on an expedited basis. After it rules, the losing side could either appeal to the full D.C. Circuit or bring the case back to the high court.  

Trump’s federal election interference case is just one of four criminal cases against him.  

In Georgia, Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants are charged with joining a criminal enterprise bent on keeping him in power after losing the 2020 election. His attorney there filed a motion Monday to dismiss the state’s charges against him based on presidential immunity, making arguments similar to the ones his lawyers in Washington have made.  

“Such immunity is particularly appropriate for the President because the Presidency involves especially sensitive duties, requires bold and unhesitating action, and would be crippled by the threat of politically motivated prosecutions,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow wrote. 

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 13 charges he faces in that case, including a state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations count alleged against each of his co-defendants. 

He also faces charges in New York in the Manhattan district attorney’s hush money probe and federal charges in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.