Former US president Donald Trump has said he will appeal Tuesday’s federal court decision to reject his claim of immunity to the charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Mr Trump was charged — after an investigation by special counsel Jack Smith — with electoral interference in a wide-ranging 37-count indictment to which he pleaded not guilty last June.
Tuesday’s ruling, by a three-judge panel of the US court of appeals for the district of Columbia, was unanimous. Central to the 57-page ruling was the finding that the former president’s stance, if upheld, “would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the president beyond the reach of all three branches”.
The ruling facilitates a path towards a trial which, although tentatively scheduled for August, may not take place until after the election in November.
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Shortly after the decision, a statement from the Trump campaign argued that “without complete immunity, a president of the United States would not be able to properly function”.
“Deranged Jack Smith’s prosecution of president Trump for his presidential official acts is unconstitutional under the doctrine of presidential immunity in a separation of powers,” the statement continued.
“Prosecuting a president for official acts violates the constitution and threatens the bedrock of our Republic. President Trump respectfully disagrees with the DC circuits decision and will appeal it in order to safeguard the presidency and the constitution.”
Mr Trump has until Monday to file an appeal.
In what was a turbulent day for the Trump campaign, he was then subject, within an hour of the legal setback, to a withering critique from president and presumptive rival Joe Biden for his dismissal of the bipartisan immigration Bill which would, if passed, underwrite a sweeping reform US policies on border control and illegal immigration.
The $118 billion Bill was drafted by a small group of Republicans and Democrats over three months and is tied to a $60 billion funding programme for Gaza, Ukraine and other conflict areas. The contents of the Bill, devised by Independent senator for Arizona Kyrsten Sinema, Chris Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut) and James Lankford (Republican-Oklahoma) was denounced on Monday by a chorus of Republicans including House speaker Mike Johnson, who declared it “dead on arrival”. The Bill was due to be forwarded for a test vote on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
“It represents the most fair, humane reforms on our immigration system in a long time and the toughest set of reforms to secure the border ever. Now, all the indications are that this Bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor,” said President Biden on Tuesday.
“Why? Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically. Even though it will help the country he is not for it. He would rather weaponise this issue than solve it. So for the last 24 hours, I am told, he has done nothing but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal. And it looks like they’re caving. Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right.”
The comprehensive reform would provide funding for an additional 1,500 border agents, 100 machines to detect fentanyl secreted through at the southwest border and 100 immigration judges to help clear the backlog of asylum processes. It would also allow the president to shut the border down if and when numbers of illegal immigrants exceeded 5,000.
A closed-door meeting of Republicans on Monday night made it clear that the requisite 60 votes to advance the Bill would not be forthcoming. A possible outcome would involve filibustering the Bill on Wednesday by denying the required votes to allow formal debate, which would effectively delay it until a later date.
The predicament is a significant blow to Ukraine and President Biden warned Republicans in Congress to consider the long-term ramifications of their stance.
“If we don’t stop [Vladimir] Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself to just Ukraine, and the costs for America and our allies and partners will rise,” he said in a 15-minute speech of sustained anger.
“For those Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable: history is watching. History is watching! A failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
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