[News Terms] Will Trump's 'Immunity Privilege' Claim Hold Up?

The 'presidential immunity' of the U.S. president is the right that exempts the president from legal liability for official acts performed while in office. However, this right applies only during the president's term and does not cover unofficial acts or actions taken after the president's term has ended.

According to AFP and other sources, on the 9th (local time), the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC held an appellate hearing to determine whether former President Donald Trump is entitled to presidential immunity in connection with charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

At the hearing attended by former President Trump, his legal team argued before the judges that actions taken by a president while in office can only be prosecuted if the president has been impeached by Congress or found guilty.

Former U.S. President and leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is giving a speech at a campaign rally.
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap News]

Earlier, the federal special counsel investigating the January 6 incident?when Trump’s staunch supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021?indicted former President Trump on charges including attempting to overturn the election results and obstructing the election process.

In response, former President Trump claimed presidential immunity as the sitting president at the time of the January 6 incident and requested the federal court to dismiss the charges against him, but the trial court rejected this request.

Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled at the time, "Former presidents do not enjoy special conditions (immunity) from federal criminal liability. The defendant (Trump) can be subject to federal investigation, conviction, and punishment for criminal acts committed while in office," dismissing the lawsuit filed by former President Trump.

Former President Trump’s insistence on presidential immunity stems from the precedent set by former President Richard Nixon, the central figure in the Watergate scandal. Starting in the fall of 1973, the U.S. House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against then-President Nixon related to the Watergate incident. Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski conducted an intense investigation into Nixon’s alleged misconduct.

Although the White House Chief of Staff and several aides were indicted, Nixon was designated as an "Un-indicted Co-Conspirator" and was never formally charged. Nixon eventually resigned, allowing Special Prosecutor Jaworski to indict him, but his successor, President Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon, freeing him from criminal prosecution.

U.S. media view former President Trump’s attendance at the appellate hearing asserting presidential immunity as part of his election campaign. Earlier, Special Counsel Jack Smith requested the U.S. Supreme Court to promptly rule on whether Trump’s alleged offenses during his presidency are protected by criminal immunity, but the Supreme Court declined.

As a result, the special counsel’s attempt to prevent former President Trump from participating in this election was thwarted. Maintaining first place in various polls for presidential candidate support, Trump’s camp intends to continue the race until the end.

CNN and others analyzed that with less than a week remaining before the Republican Party’s first presidential primary in Iowa, former President Trump?who has criticized investigations and indictments against him as a witch hunt by the Biden administration?has launched a full-scale election campaign in the courtroom.

However, appellate court judges reportedly showed a cold response to former President Trump’s claim of presidential immunity. The UK’s Guardian reported that the appellate court signaled it would dismiss the case, and BBC predicted the matter would likely proceed to the federal Supreme Court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.