Trump Pushes Back on Jack Smith’s Attempt to Quash Immunity Defense

The appellate court is set to hear oral arguments on this issue and the claim that the special counsel is violating the prohibition against double jeopardy.

Former President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom during a break in the civil fraud trial against The Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York on Dec. 7, 2023. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump is urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reject the Biden administration’s argument that his actions surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, weren’t protected under presidential immunity.

“The government’s Statement of the Case ... is legally and factually incorrect,” the Jan. 2 brief from President Trump’s legal team reads. “The government attempts to emphasize the allegedly unlawful manner and purpose of acts alleged in the indictment. ... The allegedly improper manner or purpose of the alleged acts is not relevant.”