Trump warns of ‘bedlam’ if his prosecution goes ahead
Trump speaking after a court heard his claim that he should be immune from prosecution said putting him on trial would open a Pandora´s box
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that prosecuting him as a former president would lead to “bedlam” in the United States.
Trump, speaking after a court heard his claim that he should be immune from prosecution, said putting him on trial would open a “Pandora´s box.”
“It´s very unfair when a political opponent is prosecuted by the (Justice Department)” of President Joe Biden, his likely 2024 election rival, Trump said.
“They feel this is the way they´re going to try and win. And that´s not the way it goes. It will be bedlam in the country.”
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, listened quietly to the arguments in front of a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals before he addressed reporters and warned of “bedlam” if his prosecution goes ahead.
Trump, who was impeached twice by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives while in office but acquitted both times by Republicans in the Senate, is scheduled to go on trial on March 4 on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump´s attorney John Sauer told the judges that a president can only be prosecuted for actions taken while in the White House if they have first been impeached and convicted by Congress.
“To authorize the prosecution of a president for his official acts would open a Pandora´s Box from which this nation may never recover,” Sauer said.
“The notion that criminal immunity for a president doesn´t exist is a shocking holding,” he said. “It would authorize, for example, the indictment of President Biden in the Western District of Texas after he leaves office for mismanaging the border.”
District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is to preside over Trump´s trial, rejected his immunity claim last month and the judges who heard his appeal on Tuesday also appeared unconvinced.
“I think it´s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty ´to take care that the laws be faithfully executed´ allows him to violate criminal laws,” said Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former Republican president George H.W. Bush.
Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, asked Sauer whether a president could be criminally prosecuted for ordering the assassination of a political rival by Navy SEAL special forces.
Sauer insisted that even in this case, a president could only be tried if first impeached and convicted by Congress.
James Pearce, a Justice Department attorney, called that an “extraordinarily frightening” prospect and said it would allow a president to resign before being impeached and escape punishment.
Pushing back against the immunity claim, Pearce said Trump´s conduct was unprecedented.
“Never before has there been allegations that a sitting president has with private individuals and using the levers of power sought to fundamentally subvert the democratic republic and the electoral system,” Pearce said.
“The president has a unique constitutional role, but he is not above the law.”
Trump was not required to attend the hearing but his presence -- just days before the Republican presidential primary contests kick off in Iowa -- underlined his goal of making his fight against multiple prosecutions part of his political campaign.
Speaking after the hearing, Trump said it was “very unfair” he was being pursued by the Justice Department under Biden, his likely 2024 election opponent.
“They feel this is the way they´re going to try and win,” he said. “And that´s not the way it goes. It will be bedlam in the country.”
