President Donald Trump on Tuesday told the Supreme Court he should be granted immunity for any actions on Jan 6, 2021.
Trump's legal team filed a brief outlining their legal arguments ahead of oral arguments in the case on April 25, saying Trump should enjoy absolute immunity for any official acts he undertook as president.
“The president cannot function, and the presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence, if the president faces criminal prosecution for official acts once he leaves office. If the court rejects his claim, it would incapacitate every future president, leaving them open to blackmail and extortion,” Trump's lawyers argued.
The Supreme Court will be deliberating on the unique legal issue of whether a former president is entitled to presidential immunity for “conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”
In the latest brief, Trump's legal team contends that the case focuses on the president's distinct powers outlined in the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has previously upheld in various instances, albeit not in a criminal context.
They reference, among other precedents, a 1982 Supreme Court decision in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which established that presidents are shielded from civil lawsuits for actions falling within the “outer perimeter” of their authority.
Trump's legal team has not ruled out the possibility that if the Supreme Court declines to dismiss the charges outright, it could send the case back to lower courts for additional investigation into whether the charges pertain to official acts. This potential course of action would further postpone any trial.
Read the brief from Trump’s legal team here.
