As former President Donald Trump prepares for the start of his “hush money” trial Monday, he took to his Truth Social platform on Saturday to make a bold claim about presidential immunity.
“IF IMMUNITY IS NOT GRANTED TO A PRESIDENT, EVERY PRESIDENT THAT LEAVES OFFICE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED BY THE OPPOSING PARTY,” said Trump in the post. “WITHOUT COMPLETE IMMUNITY, A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROPERLY FUNCTION!”
Judge Juan Merchan selected a jury this week and the historic trial is moving forward faster than expected, according to CNN. It has also already attracted bizarre attention – on Friday a man self-immolated outside of the courthouse as onlookers watched.
“The trial starts on Monday, which is long before a lot of people thought. The judge wants this to go as fast as possible. That’s for his reasons, not for my reasons,” said Trump Friday in the hallway of the 15th floor courtroom, per the outlet.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump’s claim that presidential immunity protected him from charges filed in the hush money case, according to the Associated Press. It centers on Trump’s payments to Michael Cohen to cover up for an alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the President’s official duties,” Hellerstein said.
Supreme Court justices have now taken on the question as it pertains to another case against Trump, Jack Smith’s 2020 election subversion case. They are scheduled to hear arguments next Thursday, according to The Huffington Post.
While Hellerstein said presidential immunity doesn’t apply to the hush money case, a recent piece from Intelligencer explained that Trump’s claims are more complicated than they might seem at first glance.
“The paramount concern for the presidency itself, Trump’s advocates surely will argue next week, is that an overzealous prosecutor might choose to criminalize official decisionmaking,” said Intelligencer. “What if, for example, some politically ambitious prosecutor in Arizona indicted Joe Biden for manslaughter because his border policies allowed people to enter the country illegally, and one migrant committed murder?”
It also said that one of the arguments in Trump’s Supreme Court brief (one that claims a president can be indicted only if they are impeached by the House and Senate) “is stupid as hell,” but that the other (that federal officials are entitled to immunity for acts taken within the scope of their job) “isn’t half bad.”
“Although two courts have ruled against Trump’s immunity argument, Smith’s criminal case is likely dead if the Supreme Court agrees with the ex-president,” said the Huffington Post.
As he faces numerous legal challenges, Trump is also the presumptive GOP candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Recent polls indicate he has an edge over his expected challenger, President Joe Biden.