Appeals court weighs Trump's immunity claim in election interference case

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday will hear arguments about whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in a chain of events that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump is expected to be in attendance when oral arguments begin at 9:30 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. The hearing could last for several hours.

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces as he fights on multiple legal fronts while remaining the presumptive front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

With Trump running for office again, whether the Washington trial originally scheduled for March can take place ahead of the election continues to hang in the balance. Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the court to move quickly, a bid to keep the trial on schedule.

The all-woman three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is hearing the case on an expedited schedule, so a ruling could come quickly, possibly in time to allow Trump’s trial to begin as scheduled.

Whatever happens, the losing party is likely to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court. The justices would then face a decision on whether to take up the case and issue their own ruling, potentially also on a fast-tracked basis.

Trump on Monday suggested that if the court does not rule in his favor and he wins the presidential election, he would have President Joe Biden indicted.

Trump’s appeal arises from the four-count indictment in Washington including charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya