In a series of posts, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to speak about his presidential immunity claim just days before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over the issue.
The former president has sought to use the presidential immunity defense to shield himself from a plethora of criminal and civil challenges. Most notably, Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, has sought the defense in his federal election interference case surrounding the events that led to the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, that was brought by Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith.
The former president was charged in August with four federal felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and claims that the indictment is politically motivated.
In total, Trump is facing four criminal indictments, both on the state and federal level. He has maintained his innocence in all cases.
Newsweek has reached out to Smith’s office via online form for comment.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media in New York City on Friday. In a series of posts, Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to speak about his presidential immunity claim just days…
SARAH YENESEL/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
On Thursday, the Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments to rule whether or not presidential immunity protects Trump from facing criminal charges for actions he took while in office.
Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform, where he focused on his presidential immunity claim, often taking aim at President Joe Biden, on Saturday.
“IF THEY TAKE AWAY MY PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, THEY TAKE AWAY CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY,” he wrote in all caps.
In a separate all caps post, the former president added: “WITHOUT PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR A PRESIDENT TO PROPERLY FUNCTION, PUTTING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN GREAT AND EVERLASTING DANGER!”
Trump also stated that “a President has to be free to determine what is right for our Country without undue pressure.”
“REMEMBER, if I don’t have Presidential Immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t have it either…If there is no Immunity, the Presidency, as we know it, will ‘no longer exist. Many actions for the benefit of our Country will not be taken. This is in no way what the Founders had in mind. Legal Experts and Scholars have stated that the President must have Full Presidential Immunity. A President must be free to make proper decisions. His mind must be clear, and he must not be guided by the fear of retribution!” he wrote.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the former president’s hush money criminal case in New York, denied Trump’s request to be excused from his trial next week as he sought to attend the Court’s hearing on his presidential immunity defense.
Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case on Monday. Following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, Trump was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied. Trump has said the case against him is politically motivated.
Amid the first week of trial, Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead defense attorney, requested that the former president be allowed to attend Thursday’s hearing.
Merchan, however, reportedly took a “sharp” tone with Blanche after the question was raised, according to New York Times reporter Jonah Bromwich, who reported from the courtroom Monday. The judge asked Blanche, “You don’t think you should be here at all right now?”
Trump’s lawyer responded that the defense team didn’t believe the case should have been brought to trial during campaign season. The former president has repeatedly accused prosecutors and judges of attempting to interfere with his 2024 reelection bid by moving forward with his plethora of legal challenges before November.
Merchan then told Blanche that his “client is a criminal defendant” and that he was “required to be here,” not at the Supreme Court hearing.
Trump also bemoaned that Merchan would not allow his absence from court next month either, which would prevent him from attending his son’s high school graduation. Barron Trump, 18, is the youngest of the former president’s five children and the only one he shares with former first lady Melania Trump.
“That I can’t go to my son’s graduation or that I can’t go to the United States Supreme Court. That I’m not in Georgia, or Florida, or North Carolina campaigning like I should be,” Trump said at the time. “It’s perfect for the radical left Democrats. It’s exactly what they want.”
Merchan has not ruled on whether Trump can be excused from court to attend his son’s graduation, saying that it was too early to decide.
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