Former President Donald Trump provided notice on Thursday that he is appealing District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision not to dismiss his 2020 election case based on presidential immunity.
Chutkan declined on Dec. 1 to toss Trump’s case based on the argument that “he is absolutely immune from prosecution” because the actions outlined in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment were taken within the bounds of his office. Trump is appealing that decision to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a notice filed with the district court.
“The Constitution’s text, structure, and history do not support that contention,” Chutkan wrote in her ruling.
“Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” Chutkan continued “Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability.” (RELATED: Jack Smith Slams Trump’s Presidential Immunity Claim As Unsupported By American History: ‘No One Is Above The Law’)
Trump appeals to DC Circuit over Judge Chutkan’s refusal to dismiss criminal election interference case against him. Earlier – https://t.co/NeDkEQJwK9 pic.twitter.com/z5CcuQ25uA
— Mike Scarcella (@MikeScarcella) December 7, 2023
Trump also requested Thursday that Chutkan pause all further proceedings until his appeal is resolved.
“The filing of President Trump’s notice of appeal has deprived this Court of jurisdiction over this case in its entirety pending resolution of the appeal,” his lawyers wrote. “Therefore, a stay of all further proceedings is mandatory and automatic.”
A three-judge panel of the appeals court, which included Obama-appointed Judges Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard and Biden-appointed Judge Bradley Garcia, heard oral arguments in November for Trump’s separate appeal of the gag order issued by Chutkan. The court temporarily paused the order early November.
“There’a a balance that has to be undertaken here,” Millett said Nov. 20. “We certainly want to make sure that the criminal trial process and its integrity and its truth finding function are protected..But we’ve got to use a careful scalpel here and not step into … skewing the political arena, don’t we?”
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