Republicans Divided On Whether Donald Trump Can Be Prosecuted For Crimes

WASHINGTON ― The question of whether a U.S. president should have full immunity from prosecution, as Donald Trump has argued while awaiting a federal court ruling on his attempt to overturn an election he lost, divided Senate Republicans on Thursday.

Some GOP senators flatly rejected the former president’s immunity claims, calling them antithetical to U.S. criminal justice. Others suggested that the matter is more complex than it appears and needs more study before they can offer an opinion.

“It’s a very specific legal argument, and I’m afraid I’m just not up on it enough to be able to comment,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian-leaning critic of executive overreach who once mounted a 12-hour filibuster on the Senate floor to warn about the threat of drone strikes against U.S. citizens on American soil.

Trump on Thursday wrote on his Truth Social website that presidents should have total immunity even for “EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE,’” adding that “SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH ‘GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.’”

Trump has been charged by the Department of Justice with engaging in a conspiracy by seeking to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. His lawyers argued in federal court earlier this month that his efforts were official acts and that he is, therefore, immune from prosecution.

Although presidents enjoy legal immunity for actions taken as part of their official duties, courts have never addressed whether that protection extends to criminal prosecution.

Members of both parties on Capitol Hill pushed back against Trump’s claims, saying that presidents aren’t above the law.

“I think the law should apply to everybody,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told HuffPost on Thursday. “That’s one of