Judgment passed

Court denies Trump criminal immunity

A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Donald Trump does not enjoy immunity from charges of attempted election fraud. However, the issue is only likely to be finally clarified by the country's Supreme Court - possibly after the election in November ...

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Trump's claim that he could not be prosecuted because the allegations were related to his official duties as president.

This also means that Trump does not enjoy immunity in lawsuits in connection with the storming of the Capitol in 2020. The former president did not initially issue a statement.

Lawyers request dismissal of the lawsuit
Trump's lawyers argued on the issue of immunity that the Republican could not be legally prosecuted for acts that were part of his duties as president. They also said in court that it was only possible to prosecute a president if he had previously been found guilty in impeachment proceedings. This is not the case with Trump. They therefore requested that the case be dismissed and the proceedings discontinued.

The public prosecutor's office rejected this - arguing, among other things, that overturning an election result is not part of a president's official duties. It pointed out that unlimited criminal immunity for a president would open the door to criminal acts of all kinds. She has already been proven right at first instance.

Trump still has a path to the Supreme Court
The leading Republican presidential candidate can now appeal to the full chamber of the Court of Appeal and, in the event of another rejection, to the Supreme Court. This would delay the proceedings by weeks or months - possibly until after the election in early November.