(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – In a new legal pushback against the Biden administration’s prosecution-turned-persecution, former President Donald Trump has argued that he has “absolute” immunity from criminal charges raised in his federal indictment over an alleged attempt to overturn the results from the 2020 election.
The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination faces four criminal indictments, two of them federal – over purported mishandling of classified documents and the January 6, 2021, events at the US Capitol.
On Thursday, Trump’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the charges in the latter, making the case that he is “absolutely immune” from any prosecution on the matter because he acted within his responsibilities as President of the United States, The Washington Times reports.
“[T]he prosecution does not, and cannot, argue that President Trump’s efforts to ensure election integrity and to advocate for the same were outside the scope of his duties,” reads the 52-page court filing.
“Instead, the prosecution falsely claims that President Trump’s efforts were impure…But as the Constitution, the Supreme Court and hundreds of years of history and tradition all make clear, the President’s motives are not for the court to decide,” his lawyers argue.
In their filing, Trump’s attorneys accuse the Biden administration of “breaking 234 years of precedent” by charging the former president “for acts that lie not just within the ‘outer perimeter,’ but at the heart of his official responsibilities as President,” as cited by AP and Newsmax.
They assert a criminal trial is not the right option to settle political disputes since presidents can be held accountable through constitutional impeachment and removal proceedings.
“American history teems with situations where the opposing party passionately contended that the President and his closest advisors were guilty of criminal behavior in carrying out their official duties,” the Trump team writes.
“In every such case, the outraged opposing party eventually took power, yet none ever brought criminal charges against the former President based on his exercise of official duties,” it adds.
The Associated Press report notes that US Special Counsel Jack Smith “had appeared to anticipate” the motion to dismiss the election interference charges since the indictment states that Trump’s actions in challenging election results went “far beyond what is legally permissible.”
Trump’s election subversion trial is scheduled for March 4, 2024, a day before the GOP primary Super Tuesday.
