Trump not immune from criminal charges in 2020 election case, prosecutors say

[October 20, 2023]  By Jack Queen
 
(Reuters) - Donald Trump does not have immunity from criminal charges for trying to reverse his 2020 U.S. presidential election loss, federal prosecutors said Thursday, opposing his bid to dismiss the case.  

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers remarks to supporters at the Club 47 USA event in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

"No constitutional provision or historical practice supports conferring absolute immunity from criminal prosecution on a former president," Washington prosecutors said in a court filing.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has claimed in legal filings that he has sweeping immunity from criminal charges for actions he took while serving as president from 2017 to 2021.

He was charged in August by U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith with four felony counts for attempting to interfere in the counting of votes and to block the certification of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden.

In an Oct. 5 court filing, Trump’s lawyers said he cannot be prosecuted for his efforts to ensure “election integrity” because they were “at the heart of his official responsibilities as President.”

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump, 77, faces as he seeks to retake the White House.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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