© Reuters. Biden stabs gentleness before Christmas: Doesn’t think Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution
Financial Associated Press, December 24 (Editor Ma Lan)The confrontation between Biden and Trump is becoming increasingly fierce. On Saturday, before leaving the White House for the Christmas holiday at Camp David, President Joe Biden publicly stated that he did not believe Trump had immunity from prosecution.
The prosecution he said was related to the riots caused by Trump’s 2020 election. Special counsel Smith has filed criminal charges against Trump for his actions during the 2021 Capitol riots, but the case is currently amid a debate over whether Trump enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution because he was president at the time.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to rule on whether Trump has immunity, leaving the issue to the D.C. Circuit Court.
Previously, Biden’s campaign team had regarded this criminal prosecution as a key weapon in attacking Trump. The team also said in a memo last week that Trump is a mortal threat to American democracy. Biden emphasized on Wednesday that Trump definitely supported the insurrectionary actions in the Capitol riot.
Special counsel Smith, who Trump requested dismissal of the criminal complaint, asked the circuit court to expedite the immunity issue to avoid delaying the criminal trial originally scheduled for March 4.
The Trump team submitted a legal document to the Supreme Court on December 20, which stated that according to the principle of constitutional balance, the prerequisite for the US president to be prosecuted is that he be impeached, approved and convicted by the US Senate. Trump’s legal team used this to argue against Smith’s request to be expedited.
On Saturday, Trump’s team again told a Federal Circuit appeals panel that he enjoys immunity from prosecution because he was still president of the United States when he attempted to overturn the 2020 election and acted within the scope of his official duties.
Trump emphasized that he had absolute immunity for official actions he performed as president at the time, and Smith’s criminal charges must be dismissed.
The appeals panel said it will hear arguments on January 9 next year. If the debate on immunity cannot come to a result in the short term, this means that Trump’s approval may be postponed to the core period of the 2024 US election or later. . This delay could change the outcome of the election.
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2023-12-24 06:49:00
