Former US President Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity, and therefore he could be tried on charges of influencing the 2020 presidential elections. A US federal court decided this on Tuesday.
Thus, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals rejected Trump's lawsuit. He said he could not be tried because the charges related to the period in which he was president. But according to the judges, that immunity has ended.
“In this case, former President Trump has become a Trump citizen,” the court wrote. He added, “The immunity that would have protected him when he was president no longer protects him from prosecution.”
Trump had appealed the ruling issued by a lower US court in December. That judge also rejected the immunity request.
Trump can still appeal the ruling
The former president can still appeal this latest ruling, including to the Federal Supreme Court. This is the highest court in the United States.
Trump is accused of interfering in the results of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the storming of the Capitol building in Washington on January 6, 2021.
The case was scheduled to begin on March 4. But the federal judge hearing the case postponed the case indefinitely last week.
If Trump is convicted, he will likely be barred from running for president in the 2024 election. But if the case is postponed until after the presidential election, it is possible that Trump could pardon himself if he becomes president again.
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