Special prosecutor Jack Smith, in charge of investigating the former president donald trump (2017-2021), urged an appeals court this Saturday to dismiss the former president’s request to file a case of electoral interference, alleging that he enjoyed total immunity while in office.
Smith’s request is especially significant because of the argument he uses: he claims that Trump’s claims about presidential immunity represent a “threat to democratic and constitutional foundations” from the country.
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“Instead of validating our constitutional framework, the broad assertion of defendant immunity threatens to authorize presidents to commit crimes to stay in office“said Smith and his team in an extensive 82-page brief presented this Saturday before the appeals court in the US capital.
Smith’s words establish the framework to prosecute Trump for attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 election, which current President Joe Biden won and whose result Trump refused to recognize, going so far as to encourage the 2021 assault on the Capitol.
The case is currently in the appeals court because, on December 1, District of Columbia Court Judge Tanya Chutkan already rejected Trump’s requests to file the case for presidential immunity.
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The president’s team appealed and the next step is for the appeals court to study the case during a hearing scheduled for January 9.
It is likely that once the appeals court issues its ruling, one of the parties will appeal again and the case will end up in the United States Supreme Court.
