Trump argues 'presidential immunity' in Georgia election interference case, files multiple motions
Trump Case: Are presidents exempt from crime?
Former President Donald Trump has started a new effort to get a Fulton County Superior Court judge to toss out his criminal case. His lawyers filed three motions on Monday, arguing that he's immune from prosecution because he was in office at the time of the alleged wrongdoing.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed three motions on Monday in additional attempts to have the Georgia election interference case against him thrown out.
The first motion argues that the trial would result in double jeopardy.
Double jeopardy means prosecuting an individual twice for the same offense.
The motion says that the indictment in Georgia against Trump must be dismissed because Trump was "impeached, tried by the Senate, and acquitted on articles of impeachment that arise from the same alleged facts and course of conduct as the criminal indictment in this case."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The motion continues its argument by saying the Constitution "straightforwardly provides" that only a party convicted by the Senate may be charged by a state's prosecution.
The second motion argues that Trump was not afforded due process. The motion says that former president Trump "lacked fair notice that his advocacy in the instance of the 2020 Presidential Election could be criminalized." According to the motion, Trump, like all citizens, is entitled to have fair warning as to where the line is drawn which separates permissible activity from that which is allegedly criminal.
According to the third motion, no president between 1789 and 2023 has ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office. The motion says that the "unbroken historic tradition of presidential immunity" is rooted in the separation of powers and the text of the Constitution.
Trump's lawyers say that the former president's actions following the 2020 election lie squarely within the "outer perimeter" of his official duties. In act, according to the motion, "they lie at the very heart of presidential responsibility."
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Additionally, a motion to compel discovery was filed against the state of Georgia. Specifically, the motion is looking for response from Chairman Thompson to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' September 2021 letter. The motion says that the DA's office has "steadfastly refused" to answer yes or no as to whether Thompson or the Select Committee ever sent a response.
Today is the deadline for most of the defendants to file pretrial motions.
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Trump was indicted along with 18 others by a Fulton County grand jury in August. Four of the codefendants have already accepted plea deals. Willis is pushing for a trial date in August.