Trump makes new appeal for immunity before Supreme Court case

Former President Trump made a renewed appeal for presidential immunity Saturday in a Truth Social post, ahead of Supreme Court arguments next week over his claim to immunity in his federal election interference case.

“IF IMMUNITY IS NOT GRANTED TO A PRESIDENT, EVERY PRESIDENT WHO LEAVES POSITION WILL BE IMMEDIATELY NOMINATED BY THE OPPOSING PARTY,” said the former president posted on his Truth Social account on Saturday morning. “WITHOUT COMPLETE IMMUNITY, A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FUNCTION PROPERLY!”

The post came after a judge in a separate case Trump faces said earlier this week that he could not attend oral arguments on his claim to presidential immunity at the Supreme Court.

The New York judge overseeing the former president’s case has taken steps to bar Trump from appearing at next Thursday’s Supreme Court arguments, as New York state law does not allow a defendant to skip any part of the case. his trial unless he receives express permission from the judge to do so.

More than a dozen retired four-star generals, admirals and other former military leaders filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court earlier this month in which they declared their opposition to the former president’s claims of immunity from criminal prosecution. In the document, the group of former military leaders said Trump’s allegations “would threaten the role of the military in American society, our nation’s constitutional order and our national security.”

“The notion of such immunity, both as a general matter and also specifically in the context of the potential denial of election results, threatens to endanger our nation’s security and international leadership,” the document says. “Particularly in times like these, when authoritarian and undemocratic regimes are on the rise across the world, such a threat is intolerable and dangerous.”