Judges skeptical of Trump’s immunity appeal at court hearing in 2020 election interference case
A federal appeals court on Tuesday heard arguments about whether former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution.
WASHINGTON — Federal appeals court judges on Tuesday questioned former President Donald Trump's broad claim of immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that resulted in a chain of events that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The all-woman three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said nothing to suggest it would embrace Trump's immunity argument, although the judges raised several options about how they could rule.
The court could issue a ruling that decisively resolves the immunity question, allowing the trial to move forward quickly, or alight on a narrower ruling that could leave some issues unresolved. It could also simply rule that Trump had no right to bring an appeal at this stage of the litigation.
Trump arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington a few minutes before oral arguments began at 9:30 a.m. and sat at his lawyers' table. He was mostly muted during his lawyers’ presentation but grew flustered at points when the prosecution's lawyer was speaking. He could be seen passing notes to his lawyers on a yellow legal pad.
Former President Donald Trump listens as his attorney D. John Sauer, standing, speaks before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington on Tuesday. Bill HennessySpecial counsel Jack Smith was also present at the hearing, which lasted for a little over an hour.
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