Trump demands immunity even if he crosses the line
Published on: Saturday, January 20, 2024
By: AFP
If Trump’s appeal is denied, as expected by most legal experts, the case will likely go for a final decision before the Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said that his claim of “total” presidential immunity against criminal prosecution should extend even if his actions “cross the line.”
Trump is running for a White House comeback in November while simultaneously fighting 91 criminal charges in four separate cases that include allegedly seeking to overturn his 2020 election loss and hoarding top secret documents at his golf resorts.
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In a social media post sent at about 2:00 am, Trump argued that as president he enjoyed complete immunity from prosecution—and he urged the Supreme Court to rule in his favor.
“EVEN EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE’ MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website, using his customary all-caps style throughout the statement.
Trump suggested that US presidents need immunity to be able to make hard decisions, and that this need outweighs the danger from presidents who break the rules.
The Republican likened the situation to the police, who must keep working despite the “occasional ‘rogue cop.’”
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“Sometimes,” wrote Trump, “You just have to live with ‘great but slightly imperfect.’”
He said the Supreme Court, which has tilted to the right since Trump appointed three new justices during his presidency, would have an “easy decision.”
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A federal appeals court in Washington is currently considering Trump’s claim to immunity against prosecution over his role in efforts to change the results of the 2020 election, in which Democrat Joe Biden defeated the incumbent Republican.
If Trump’s appeal is denied, as expected by most legal experts, the case will likely go for a final decision before the Supreme Court.
The US Congress green-lit temporary funding to thwart a partial government shutdown that threatened the functions of multiple key federal agencies and could have seen thousands of employees sent home without pay.
With large sections of the government due to close at the end of Friday, the House of Representatives voted to keep the lights for at least another six weeks, approving a measure that had advanced earlier from the Senate.
Leaders in the upper chamber pitched the last-ditch “continuing resolution” as public workers were preparing to be sent home unpaid, upending government functions from military operations to food aid to federal policymaking.
Complicating the negotiations, forecasts for a brutal winter storm curtailed the lawmakers’ work, with Congress announcing that it would be closed for business all day Friday.
“We have good news for America: There will not be a shutdown on Friday,” Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech to colleagues.
Under the agreement, services and administration related to agriculture, energy and water, military construction and veterans’ programs, transport and housing—all due to grind to a halt at the weekend—will be funded until March 1.
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