'I was entitled': Donald Trump previews his Tuesday courtroom appeal on presidential immunity
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is opening 2024 in what is likely to be a familiar place for him this election year: the courtroom.The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner previewed on social media Monday his reasons why he should be shielded from charges of election interference. The crux of his argument, which his lawyers will make in a D.C. appeals court hearing Tuesday: he was president when the events occurred, so he is immune.
“Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity,” Trump said in a post Monday on Truth Social.
The case just one of the matter's on Trump's courtroom docket for the week. On Thursday, lawyers will make their closing arguments in the New York real estate fraud case in which $370 million in damages are at stake.
Don't expect Trump himself to take the stand in either case this week. That's for the lawyers, with lots of questions from the judges. But Trump may weigh in outside the courtroom, and most certainly will make his case on social media.
Given that, expect a fiery rebuttal Tuesday from one of Trump's chief legal adversaries. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has argued that Trump’s logic would allow a president to commit crimes like bribery, murder and treason without consequence.
Why does Trump think he deserves immunity?
Trump contends he is immune to the charges because he was president in the weeks between the election and the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, when he allegedly took part in a multi-state conspiracy to defraud voters by thwarting Joe Biden's election victory. He also argues that when the Senate acquitted him at an impeachment trial on charges he incited the insurrection, lawmakers also blocked a criminal prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Trump’s argument, ruling his time as commander in chief "did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens."
Trump appealed her decision to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel will hear arguments. The case will be heard by Judges Karen Henderson, who was appointed by George H.W. Bush; and Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, who were each appointed by Biden.
Another Supreme Court case for Donald Trump?
The case could eventually reach the Supreme Court − which has already agreed to hear another Trump case, about whether he can appear on the ballot in Colorado. That Supreme Court argument is scheduled for Feb. 8.
Trump is in the process of balancing his campaign and courthouse schedules. He held rallies in Iowa on Friday and Saturday. After taking time out for the hearing on Tuesday, Trump returns to Iowa for a Fox News town hall on Wednesday and more campaign rallies over the weekend heading into Monday’s caucuses.
The day after the caucuses, his trial on defamation damages begins to determine what he owes writer E. Jean Carroll, who won a $5 million judgment against Trump last year over a sexual abuse incident from the 1990s.
Trump faces criminal trials on federal charges of election interference tentatively scheduled March 4 and mishandling classified documents on May 20, Georgia charges of election racketeering and New York charges of falsifying business records.
Trump’s complaints about the legal actions against him are a staple of his campaign stump speech. The former president claims the criminal trials and civil lawsuits against him are politically motivated, and he often threatens to retaliate against political opponents should he be reelected.
In his announcement Tuesday, Trump suggested that President Joe Biden “would be ripe for Indictment,” for allegedly accepting millions of dollars from foreign countries.
“By weaponizing the DOJ against his Political Opponent, ME, Joe has opened a giant Pandora’s Box,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The House voted to open a formal impeachment inquiry to investigate Biden’s potential influence. Biden and the White House have dismissed the accusations as “lies” and “baseless.”
Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee released a report Thursday detailing how Trump's businesses received $7.8 million during his presidency from foreign governments such as China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump to attend hearing to fight election interference charges
