Ex-President Donald Trump’s attempt to use “presidential immunity” to get charges of election meddling dismissed has been denied by a federal judge.
Trump’s attorneys had maintained that he was entitled to use his presidential powers to reject the 2020 results.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, however, did not find any legal justification for the conclusion that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution after leaving office.
Trump is charged with attempting to reverse his election loss illegally.
“Whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States has only one chief executive at a time,” Judge Chutkan wrote late on Friday.
“That position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”
In addition, she stated that Trump “did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens”.
This is the first time a US court has confirmed that presidents are subject to the same criminal laws as regular citizens. The first US president, living or dead, to be charged with a crime is Donald Trump.
Trump is charged with four felonies, one of which is conspiracy to defraud the United States, in connection with his purported attempts to avert his loss in the 2020 presidential contest.
He entered a not guilty plea. Special Counsel Jack Smith is bringing the case in Washington, DC, and it is expected to start in March, right in the middle of his presidential campaign.
Judge Chutkan also denied Trump’s request to see documents pertaining to the congressional investigation into the 2021 US Capitol riot earlier this week.
In a 27 November opinion, the Obama appointee called the endeavour a “fishing expedition”.
A gag order had already been issued by Judge Chutkan, who had turned down a request to strike language from the indictment that Trump’s attorneys felt would sway the jury in his favor during the trial.
The former president is currently embroiled in several legal battles, one of which is the federal case in Washington, DC.
Indictments for crimes against him are also pending in connection with his purportedly dishonest accounting of hush money and handling of classified documents.
Trump, his family, and executives of the Trump Organization are being tried for civil fraud in their home state of New York.
The judge found the Trump Organization guilty of fraud in this case.
The trial will decide the punishments; the prosecution is requesting a $250 million (£202 million) fine as well as business restrictions on the Trump Organization and family.