The former president — who is facing a mountain of legal woes — is trying to win back the White House on the idea that he should be above the law
Donald Trump isn’t happy that judges on a Washington, D.C., appeals court ruled that he’s not protected from prosecution in the Justice Department’s election interference case against him. The former president has long been claiming he should be immune from criminal repercussions for anything he did while in office — including conspiring to overturn the democratic process — and on Wednesday he posted to Truth Social that a president’s job is so contingent on their ability to commit crimes that it would mark the “end” of “our Country, as we know it,” if they are not afforded that right.
“If a President does not have Immunity, the Opposing Party, during his/her term in Office, can extort and blackmail the President by saying that, ‘if you don’t give us everything we want, we will Indict you for things you did while in Office,’ even if everything done was totally Legal and Appropriate,” Trump wrote, adding that “Obama, Bush, and soon, Crooked Joe Biden, would all be in PRISON. Protect Presidential Immunity. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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There’s no evidence that Bush, Obama, or Biden committed crimes while in office, but Trump is under heavy legal scrutiny for an array of potential crimes — most of them tied to his effort to remain in office despite losing to Biden. Trump tried to get the Justice Department’s case against him thrown out last year, alleging he could do no wrong because he was the president. Judge Tanya Chutkan shot down the bid, and Trump appealed, sending the case to the D.C. appeals court. In a hearing last month, Trump’s lawyers argued that immunity should go so far as to protect a president from prosecution even if they were to order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival.
I struggle to see how being held accountable is a bad thing. Even in public office.
Nobody should be above the law.
Because it’s him being held accountable. Can’t you see what a disaster that is!?
He’s a confederate traitor so he needs immunity or America as he knows and loves it is over. As it should be.
I guess we’d need to understand the nuances of presidential immunity. I personally don’t understand them, but it’s clear the president has elevated privileges compared to regular citizens.
My guess is that it is a subjective matter that is left to judges to rule instead of a hardcodes set of rules about immunity scenarios. That’s just my guess. If someone can dig deeper, it would be awesome.