Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Donald Trump is attending a federal appeals court hearing in Washington on Tuesday to determine whether he is immune from criminal prosecution for his alleged actions while serving in the White House.
The oral argument before the three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit comes just days before the beginning of the presidential primary process ahead of the 2024 election.
It is one of two court hearings Trump is expected to attend this week, along with closing arguments set for Thursday in a civil fraud trial brought by the New York attorney-general against the former president and his business empire.
The judges are set to tackle a critical aspect of Trump’s defence against a federal criminal case brought by US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith alleging he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election: namely, whether he is immune from prosecution as he was president at the time of the alleged crimes.
Trump argued that the law shields presidents from prosecution over acts related to their official duties, and has sought to dismiss the indictment. Smith has argued that Trump’s claims are “profoundly mistaken” and framed the legal question as critical for the country’s democracy.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case in the lower court, last month rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss. He subsequently appealed against this decision and asked that all proceedings related to the case be put on hold pending a final order.
Smith last month asked the US Supreme Court to fast-track a ruling over the presidential immunity question, but the high court declined to take it up before it was heard by the intermediate appeals court. The matter is expected to land back before the top court in any case following a decision from the DC Circuit.
Earlier this week Trump reiterated in a social media post that he was “of course” entitled to immunity and accused US President Joe Biden of “weaponising” the DoJ.
Trump faces four sets of criminal charges, including federal and state indictments accusing him of election interference. The DoJ has also accused him of mishandling sensitive government documents, while the Manhattan district attorney has charged him over payments to a porn actress with whom Trump allegedly had an affair. The ex-president has pleaded not guilty in all cases, which he has framed as politically motivated.
Trump is also fighting rulings in the states of Maine and Colorado that have disqualified him from their primary presidential ballots on the basis that he was not fit to be president under the 14th amendment to the US Constitution, which bans individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion from holding office. Both states have pointed to Trump’s actions before and during January 6, 2021, when a group of his supporters stormed the US Capitol to stop the certification of Biden’s win. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
The US Supreme Court last week agreed to hear the Colorado case after Trump requested it overturn the state’s decision. It will hear arguments on February 8, putting it in the centre of a legal dispute that will have fundamental implications for the 2024 polls.
Despite the legal woes, Trump’s standing in opinion polls has only improved in recent months, and he is the clear frontrunner to secure the Republican nomination.