Judge rejects Trump’s claim of immunity in his federal 2020 election prosecution

Former President Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss the 2020 election interference case against him on the grounds that he was protected under presidential immunity failed Friday after a federal judge rejected his motion. 

“The court cannot conclude that our Constitution cloaks former Presidents with absolute immunity for any federal crimes they committed while in office,” US District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in her 48-page ruling. 

“Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” she argued. “Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability.” 

Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal Chutkan’s ruling and litigation over the issue of presidential power could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The former president’s lawyers also sought to have the government’s case dismissed on free speech grounds, arguing that Trump was within his First Amendment rights to challenge the results of the 2020 election and allege that there was widespread fraud. 

Chutkan on Friday rejected that argument as well. 

“It is well established that the First Amendment does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime, and consequently the Indictment — which charges Defendant with, among other things, making statements in furtherance of a crime — does not violate Defendant’s First Amendment rights,” she wrote. 

“Defendant is not being prosecuted simply for making false statements … but rather for knowingly making false statements in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy and obstructing the electoral process,” Chutkan added.

The judge also shot down Trump’s argument that he can only be indicted if he was convicted by the Senate during impeachment proceedings, ruling that the argument only applies to a sitting president.

Chutkan’s ruling comes the same day that a three-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Trump’s request to dismiss lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

The lawsuits accuse the 77-year-old former president of inciting the violent mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol as the election results were being certified.

However, the ruling did not consider whether presidential immunity ultimately shields the former president from liability, with the judges expressing “no view on the ultimate merits of the claims” against Trump. 

The 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner was hit with a four-count indictment in August on allegations that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case, for which the trial is expected to start on March 4, 2024, in Washington, DC.