Trump’s Immunity Appeal Hearing In Jan. 6 Criminal Case Is Today—Here’s What To Know

Topline Former President Donald Trump will go to court Tuesday as an appeals court considers whether to throw out criminal charges against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election, as the ex president claims he has “immunity” from criminal prosecution—and his criminal trial remains on pause until the question is resolved.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on January 5 in Mason City, Iowa. Key Facts Trump has asked a federal appeals court to throw out the four federal felony charges against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election, arguing he has “presidential immunity” because the actions he’s indicted for were undertaken while he was in the White House.

The appeals court will hear the case after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against Trump—writing his presidency doesn’t mean he has the “divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens”—and after the Supreme Court declined to take up the case before the appeals court ruled.

Trump is expected to attend the hearing in person, he confirmed Monday on Truth Social. What To Watch For It’s unclear when the appeals court will rule after they hear the case Tuesday, though prosecutors have asked judges to rule swiftly, as proceedings in the criminal case are on pause until Trump’s appeal is resolved.

Once the court rules, it’s likely the case will then get appealed to either the full appeals court—versus a panel of only a few judges—or straight to the Supreme Court, which could take up the case after refusing to do so before. It remains to be seen how much the appeals process will affect the timeline in the criminal case against Trump, assuming the appeals court rules against him, though it’s likely it’ll delay the planned March trial date.

Trump has broadly sought to delay his criminal trials until after the 2024 election—which, if he does successfully, could mean he could have his federal charges dropped if he’s reelected, by appointing Justice Department officials willing to throw out the indictments. What We Don’t Know How the appeals court will rule, though legal experts broadly expect the judges to rule against Trump.

“It should be very easy to conclude [Trump] doesn’t have a case for immunity,” University of Minnesota law professor David Schultz wrote in an op ed for Bloomberg Law, while University of Chicago law professor Aziz Huq told ABC News he believes Trump’s arguments for immunity are “exceptionally weak.” Trump’s position “cannot be squared with the Constitution’s text or history,” legal experts and former government officials wrote in an amicus brief at the appeals court.

Tangent Trump also is trying to use the immunity argument to get out of his other set of criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election, which were brought against him in Georgia state court. The ex president filed a motion on Monday that similarly claims “absolute immunity shields [Trump] Key Background The federal election case against Trump is one of four criminal cases that’s been brought against the ex president, and he faces the threat of prison time if he’s convicted.

The appeals court hearing marks the most high profile test yet of Trump’s immunity claims, which has become a frequent legal argument for the ex president as he faces a slew of both criminal and civil litigation. In addition to the two criminal election cases, Trump has also claimed he has immunity from defamation claims brought against him by writer E.

Jean Carroll and civil lawsuits from Capitol police officers and lawmakers seeking to hold him liable for Jan. 6. District and appeals courts have both ruled against him on those arguments, and Trump has suggested he could also take those fights to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has previously ruled in Nixon v.

Fitzgerald that presidents cannot be held liable in civil court for actions they undertook as part of their presidential duties—which courts have ruled Trump’s post 2020 election activities weren’t—but hasn’t made any determination on whether ex presidents can be criminally prosecuted for activities undertaken while in office.

Further Reading Trump Confirms He’ll Attend Court Hearing Tuesday In Jan. 6 Criminal Case, Says He’s ‘Entitled To Presidential Immunity’ (Forbes) Is Trump Immune From Criminal Charges? What To Know About ‘Presidential Immunity’ As Supreme Court Weighs Taking Up Case. (Forbes) Trump’s 2024 Legal Cases: Here’s When The Ex President Will Go To Trial This Year (Forbes) Supreme Court Won’t Take Up Trump’s Jan.

6 Charges—At Least For Now (Forbes).