ExplainerTrump on trial: do US presidents have immunity from the law?
- US appeals court to hear arguments on whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution on charges he conspired to overturn the 2020 election
- Outcome carries enormous ramifications on whether a former president may be prosecuted for what he did while in the White House
There’s a beloved American axiom as old as the nation that “no one is above the law - not even the president”.
Every generation or so, that gets tested in the courts, and it’s about to happen again.
This week, former US president Donald Trump will ask a DC appellate court - and soon after, likely the Supreme Court - to effectively rule that, well, actually, sometimes a president should be above the law.
Trump is the nation’s first former chief executive to be charged with a crime, but he argues that an ex-president is immune from prosecution for his “official actions” while in the White House.
Trump was indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct the official certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory and seeking to defraud Americans of their rightful votes. Trump is charged with four federal felonies and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Justice Department has long maintained that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime while in office. Impeachment is the only remedy for removing a sitting president who breaks the law.