Trump says he will attend federal appeals court arguments on presidential immunity

[January 08, 2024]  (Reuters) -Donald Trump said he will be attending an appeals court hearing regarding the scope of his presidential immunity in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, in comments in a Truth Social post on Monday.  

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event, in Clinton, Iowa, U.S., January 6, 2024. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

"Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity," Trump said in the post.

Prosecutors have accused Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, of attempting to obstruct Congress and defraud the U.S. government through schemes to reverse Democratic President Joe Biden's 2020 election win.

Trump has argued that the case should be dismissed on the grounds that former presidents cannot face criminal charges for conduct related to their official responsibilities.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected that claim on Dec. 1, prompting Trump's appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Trump's appeal suspended his trial, which is currently set to take place in March.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to immediately decide former President Donald Trump's claim that he cannot be prosecuted for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, allowing a lower court to continue reviewing the issue.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill and Tom Hogue)

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