Trump urges Supreme Court to adopt broad presidential immunity in election interference case

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Dayton International Airport on March 16, 2024 in Vandalia, Ohio. 

Scott Olson | Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday told the Supreme Court he should be granted immunity for his effort to overturn the 2020 election results that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump's legal team filed a brief outlining their legal arguments ahead of oral arguments in the case on April 25, saying Trump should enjoy absolute immunity for any official acts he undertook as president.

"The president cannot function, and the presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence, if the president faces criminal prosecution for official acts once he leaves office," Trump's lawyers wrote.

If the court rejects his claim, it would "incapacitate every future president," leaving them open to blackmail and extortion, they added.

Prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith are hoping for a swift ruling against Trump so that a criminal trial can take place before November's presidential election. Smith's own brief is due on April 8.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority including three Trump appointees, will be considering the novel legal question of whether a former president enjoys presidential immunity for "conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office."

Trump has so far lost that argument in two different courts.

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His immunity claim was prompted by a four-count indictment in Washington, including charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in December rejected Trump's plea for immunity.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that decision in February, prompting Trump to turn to the Supreme Court.