CNN's Jim Acosta had a lot of questions for former impeachment lawyer and ex-prosecutor Norm Eisen about Donald Trump's claims of absolute immunity.
Trump's appeal to the federal courts is that as a president he has absolute immunity from any and all illegal actions while president, even if it wasn't part of doing his job.
"If presidents have absolute immunity why did [Gerald] Ford ever pardon [Richard] Nixon?" asked Acosta. "I mean, you know, how is it that they can argue that they have absolute immunity."
Eisen called it an "astonishing proposition." He noted with a smirk that he'd practiced with one of Trump's lawyers, who he said was talented but even in this case, "he outdid himself" on the idea of the so-called "absolute immunity." He anticipated there "would be a stampede for the criminally minded to get to the Oval Office" if that was the case.
"Where would it stop?" Eisen asked. "They could do kidnappings, bank robberies, murders. That is inimical to American law," said Eisen. "There is no hint of absolute immunity anywhere in our Constitution or history. The prior cases before the Supreme Court, as you point out, if Trump's arguments were correct Richard Nixon would have refused to resign because he wanted to take advantage of his absolute immunity and take his chances that Congress would acquit him. So, it's not going to work. But Jim, it's not about winning. It's all about running out the clock."
The other argument is that Trump can't be tried again because he was tried by the Senate in an impeachment case. The Senate isn't the judicial system. In that case, Acosta recalled that Senate Leader (at the time) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the legal system should take care of Trump's actions, not the Senate. Now Trump is saying only the Senate could do it. Acosta said that it can't be both.
Eisen called the impeachment argument "frivolous" and upon looking at the Constitution, he said that the text makes it clear that even if he is convicted in the Senate, he or she "shall nevertheless be liable for criminal proceedings."
Another legal expert suspected that the reason for Trump's delay is that he's not confident that his case is winnable.
See the video below or at the link here.
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