How far does ‘absolute immunity’ go? Trump’s lawyer argues for incredible extreme

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Former PresidentDonald Trump has long argued that his supporters are so committed that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue in New York City, shoot someone and not lose them.

One of his lawyers made the argument in federal court Tuesday that he might not be prosecuted either.

The question at hand is whether Trump and all presidents achieve “absolute immunity” from prosecution. Trump faces four different criminal prosecutions, and his strategy, beyond delaying these trials, is to argue that as a guard against political prosecutions he simply cannot be prosecuted.

Trump’s first criminal prosecution by the federal government for 2020 election interference has been put on hold, for now, while these immunity questions work their way through the appeals process.

With Trump looking on in federal court in Washington, DC, Tuesday, his lawyer was given hypotheticals by Judge Florence Pan, a nominee of President Joe Biden and one of three judges hearing the appeal.

Would a president face prosecution for selling pardons or state secrets? No, Trump’s lawyer John Sauer said, so long as he was not impeached and convicted first.

A hypothetical assassination

Then, Pan went a step further.

“Could a president order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? That is an official act – an order to SEAL Team 6,” Pan said.

Not necessarily, according to Sauer.

“He would have to be, and would speedily be, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution,” Sauer said, suggesting that adding this extra layer before a president could face criminal accountability is essential to protect