Former President Donald Trump said he will be in Washington on Tuesday to sit in the courtroom while his lawyers argue he is entitled to presidential immunity against charges from special counsel Jack Smith.
Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, also strongly suggested he would turn the tables on President Biden if he wins in November, saying the current administration “opened a giant Pandora’s box” through the Department of Justice.
“If I don’t get Immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t get Immunity, and with the Border Invasion and Afghanistan Surrender, alone, not to mention the Millions of dollars that went into his ’pockets’ with money from foreign countries, Joe would be ripe for Indictment,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday confirming his trip to court.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will consider whether Mr. Trump is shielded from charges in an indictment that alleges Mr. Trump conspired against the U.S. and its voters by trying to overturn the 2020 election results through fake electors and a pressure campaign on elected officials to overturn the vote.
The indictment charges Mr. Trump with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and conspiracy against the right to vote.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers say his decision to question the legitimacy of the 2020 results was within the “outer perimeter” of his official duties as president and he deserves immunity from prosecution over his official acts.
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“Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over. I was looking for voter fraud, and finding it, which is my obligation to do, and otherwise running our Country.”
A federal trial judge rejected Mr. Trump’s immunity claim, resulting in an appeal.
Mr. Smith wanted the Supreme Court to take up Mr. Trump’s challenge right away, saying the issue was of monumental importance given the precedent it would set if presidents could not be held criminally accountable for certain acts. It could also affect other cases Mr. Trump is facing elsewhere.
“The implications of the defendant’s broad immunity theory are sobering,” Mr. Smith’s team wrote.
They said Mr. Trump’s immunity claim would mean that nothing could keep a president, for instance, “from inciting his supporters during a State of the Union address to kill opposing lawmakers — thereby hamstringing any impeachment proceeding — to ensure that he remains in office unlawfully.”
Mr. Smith also wants to keep a March trial date on track, which is looking less and less likely.
Mr. Trump will be happy to see the trial delayed and will watch things unfold at the lower appeals court. He faces a civil trial judgment in New York and four criminal trials as he campaigns for president this year, so he is leveraging the media platform from courthouse hallways while he tries to run out the clock.
Analysts widely believe he would try to pardon himself of federal offenses if he is elected to the presidency.
The circuit panel that will consider the immunity question includes two Democratic appointees by President Biden and a Republican appointee by President George H.W. Bush.
Arguments will be livestreamed through the court’s website and are scheduled for 45 minutes, though the session could last longer if the judges ask a lot of questions. The losing side will likely appeal to the Supreme Court, though the justices are not required to take up the case.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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