Trump Takes His Claim Of ‘Total Immunity’ From Prosecution To Supreme Court

WASHINGTON ― Donald Trump has taken his claim of “total immunity” from criminal prosecution for his coup attempt to the U.S. Supreme Court, thereby keeping his case from moving toward trial until the high court issues a ruling.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Feb. 6 unanimously upheld the trial court’s decision that Trump was not immune from prosecution for his actions leading up to and on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault of the Capitol he incited to block the transfer of presidential power after he lost the 2020 election. Appellate judges told the former president he had until Feb. 12 to file a request for a stay with the Supreme Court, which would further freeze his case until justices make a decision to take it on or not.

Trump argued to both U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan and a three-judge panel of the appellate court that any and all of the actions a president takes in office are immune from prosecution and that the only way a former president can be prosecuted is if they were first impeached in the House and convicted in the Senate.

Both Chutkan and the appellate judges disagreed.

“Former President Trump’s claimed immunity would have us extend the framework for presidential civil immunity to criminal cases and decide for the first time that a former president is categorically immune from federal criminal prosecution for any act conceivably within the outer perimeter of his executive responsibility,” the appeals judges wrote.

Trump has indicated he would also ask the Supreme Court to review the substance of the appellate court ruling. If a majority of the justices agreed to overturn the appeals court, it would likely end the felony, four-count election subversion case against him.

Trump has