Fox News legal analyst and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley explained Tuesday that former President Donald Trump’s legal team actually had a win with the appeals decision striking down claims of presidential immunity.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Trump cannot assert immunity from prosecution in relation to the ongoing case regarding the 2020 election. Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for allegedly seeking to overturn the 2020 election though Trump argued he had constitutional immunity from prosecution.
The three-judge panel rejected Trump’s claim on Tuesday.
Turley, however, said Trump’s team was successful in filing this appeal initially because it bought them time.
“The most practical impact of this appeal was indeed the delay that it caused. It was very important for the Trump team to try to push this trial back. They succeeded in doing that, as you mentioned,” Turley said.
“Now, the next stage here is that they can ask for review of the entire court — what’s called an en-banc petition. That has to be reviewed and voted on even if they reject it. And that will take some time. And then they will no doubt appeal to the Supreme Court, which is — now has a considerable stack on the desks of these justices, including election-related cases.”
The appeals panel ruled that Trump “has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution,” the panel ruled.
Smith had originally tried to fast-track Trump’s presidential immunity claims to the Supreme Court in December but the justices denied his request.
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