Immunity Argument To Affect Two Trump Cases

WASHINGTON - Jan. 9, 2024 - PRLog -- The oral argument this morning in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will be asked to rule that former president Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for actions he took as president involves the federal prosecution of Trump by special counsel Jack Smith.

But a decision either way could also have a profound impact on the criminal case now pending against Trump in Georgia, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, whose complaint triggered that equally worrisome proceeding.
Law Professor's Complaint Leads to Investigation Into Trump's 'Find 11,800 Votes' Call (https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2021/02/09/law-professors-complaint-leads-to-investigation-into-trumps-find-11800-votes-call/)

Indeed, notes Banzhaf, Trump's lawyers made virtually the same legal arguments in a motion filed on Monday in the Georgia case that they will argue in the federal case.

But their argument for presidential immunity in state courts seems to have been undercut by the Supreme Court's decision in rejecting, by 7-2, Trump's claim of immunity in seeking to rebuff a New York state subpoena for his business and tax records.  There, speaking for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts wrote:

"The president is not seeking immunity ... occasioned by the prospect of future liability . . .  Instead [Trump] concedes — consistent with the position of the Department of Justice — that state grand juries are free to investigate a sitting president with an eye toward charging him after the completion of his term." [emphasis added]

Should the D.C. Circuit determine that Trump does have the presidential immunity he claims, it could derail all or at least a major part of the criminal proceeding now moving forward against him in Georgia.

However, a ruling against Trump's claim would greatly strengthen Fulton County Prosecutor Fanni Willis' criminal case; not only by undercutting a major legal defense, but also by causing the additional named defendants to agree to flip and testify against him because their chances of receiving a lengthy prison sentence have just substantially increased.

This could prove devastating since many can provide very convincing first-hand testimony about what Trump did and said, thereby helping to prove the "intent" requirement of many of the counts facing Trump, says Banzhaf.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf