Former President Donald Trump asked a judge on Thursday to dismiss the case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith related to the 2020 election.
Trump’s defense team, including attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche, cited “absolute Presidential immunity” in their motion for United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan to dismiss Smith’s indictment.
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“The acts alleged in the indictment lie firmly within the ‘outer perimeter’ of the president’s official responsibility,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “Therefore, they cannot form the basis of criminal charges against President Trump.”
The attorneys accused Smith of “breaking 234 years of precedent” by charging Trump for such acts, which they also said were “at the heart” of the president’s job responsibilities.
“In doing so, the prosecution does not, and cannot, argue that President Trump’s efforts to ensure election integrity, and to advocate for the same, were outside the scope of his duties,” they wrote.
They also cited impeachment clauses in the Constitution that they argued protect Trump, who was impeached for “the same course of conduct” in 2021 but acquitted in the Senate.
The Constitution “presupposes that a President who is not convicted may not be subject to criminal prosecution,” the attorneys wrote.
The motion comes after Smith brought four felony charges against Trump over allegations he conspired to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The trial in the case is set to begin in March 2024, and some have speculated the motion aligns with Trump’s frequently used tactic of attempting to delay litigation.
The indictment represents a fraction of the legal cases Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, is wrapped up in. He is facing three other criminal cases and multiple civil cases.
The motion to dismiss was his second to be made public on Thursday. In one of the other criminal cases, Trump moved to dismiss the 34 counts of business fraud brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Trump’s attorneys in that filing called the case a “discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects, procedural failures, discovery violations, and a stubborn refusal to provide meaningful particulars regarding its theory of the case,” according to a copy of the motion published by Politico.
The attorneys said the case prejudiced Trump and interfered with his 2024 campaign and that if the judge did not dismiss it, Trump should be granted a hearing regarding “preindictment delay” and other concerns.
