AURN News with Ebony McMorris

Judges Rule Trump Is Not Immune to Prosecution in 2020 Election Interference Case

Ebony McMorris
February 7, 2024

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a commit to caucus rally, Dec. 13, 2023, in Coralville, Iowa. Trump's lawyers are pressing to have special counsel Jack Smith's team held in contempt. The Republican former president's lawyers said Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, prosecutors have taken steps to advance the 2020 election interference case against him in violation of a judge's order that put the case on hold. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity from prosecution on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. A three-judge federal appeals court made the decision in the criminal election interference case being prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump is now expected to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. Trump’s legal team argues he’s immune from prosecution because the charges relate to official acts performed while he was president. The former president is charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

FILE – Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest outside of the Supreme Court on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, riot at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2023. All eyes are on the Supreme Court in Donald Trump’s federal 2020 election interference case. The conservative-majority Supreme Court’s next moves could determine whether the former president stands trial in Washington ahead of the November election.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Here’s MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin on the timing of the case: “They have a lot of time if they choose to try and run out the clock and then the onus would be on special counsel Jack Smith and his team to try and expedite things. The further out he can push this trial into the election season or potentially beyond, that advantages him.”

Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris is a native Washingtonian and University of South Carolina alumna. Her passion is mentoring young adults by teaching community empowerment and media education. She is an NAB member and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Center and was presented the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of community service under the Obama Administration.