Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Saturday filed a late-night appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, “again trying to argue for presidential immunity,” CBS’ Scott MacFarlane reports.
Per McFarlane, “The 71-page briefing argues, ‘Under the doctrine of separated powers, neither a federal nor a state prosecutor, nor a state or federal court, may sit in judgment over a President’s official acts, which are vested in the Presidency alone.’”
"During the 234 years from 1789 to 2023, no current or former President had ever been criminally prosecuted for official acts. That unbroken tradition died this year,” the former president’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
Conservative lawyer George Conway on Sunday zeroed in on that “unbroken tradition” claim, using the language of the brief to highlight what sparked such an unprecedented reaction from the U.S. criminal justice system.
“During the 231 years from 1789 to 2020, no current or former President had ever telephoned officials in multiple states in an attempt to fraudulently alter presidential election results. That unbroken tradition died that year,” Conway wrote.
Read the full filing here.
