Former President Donald Trump, who faces federal criminal charges over his unprecedented efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election, argued on Thursday that presidents should have complete immunity from prosecution for any crime they may commit while in office.
“EVEN EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE’ MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD,” Trump wrote in all capital letters on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He added: “SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH ‘GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.’ ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE AN EASY DECISION. GOD BLESS THE SUPREME COURT!”
Trump’s lawyers argued in federal court earlier this month that his actions seeking to overturn the 2020 election, leading up to the violent January 6, 2021, attack on Congress, were official acts and that he is, therefore, immune from prosecution by the Justice Department, which has charged him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
However, the US District Court of Appeals judges seemed likely to reject that argument. Trump’s comments on Thursday signaled that he hopes the conservative 6-3 Supreme Court will take up the matter and rule in his favor.
Trump’s bid for total immunity has drawn bipartisan criticism. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, his leading 2024 presidential primary rival, dismissed it as “ridiculous”, while Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) called it “antithetical to what we all believe in”.
Still, Trump has picked up momentum following his resounding win in the Iowa caucuses earlier this week. He currently has the support of a majority of Senate Republicans, and more are expected to hop on the bandwagon in the coming weeks.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), in his endorsement of Trump last week, said that Trump would almost certainly be the GOP nominee and that Republicans needed to get behind him to oust Democrat Joe Biden from the White House.
“I’ll take the mean tweets,” Lee added, referring to Trump’s rants online. “I choose Trump.”