Trump presses immunity claim, says could prosecute Biden if re-elected
By Andrew Goudsward and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump warned he could prosecute Joe Biden if he returns to the White House, as his lawyers prepared to argue in a Washington court that he should be immune from criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The Republican former U.S. president will not get a chance to speak as his lawyers try to convince three federal appeals-court judges that the case should be dismissed before it goes to trial in March.
But with the Republican state-by-state presidential nominating contest due to kick off next week, Trump is using the hearing as an opportunity to claim he is the victim of political persecution.
The U.S. Justice Department has long held that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions they take in office, and Trump says that should apply to former presidents as well.
If the case is allowed to go forward, Trump said, he could prosecute Democrat Biden if he wins the November presidential election.
«If I don't get immunity then crooked Joe Biden doesn't get immunity,» Trump said in a video posted on social media. «Joe would be ripe for indictment.»
Trump, who lost to Biden in the 2020 election, has opened up a commanding lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination since the first criminal charge against him was announced last March. He is expected to easily win Monday's contest in Iowa.
Inside the courtroom, Trump's lawyers are expected to tell a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the case should be dismissed.
Allowing former presidents to be prosecuted, they have argued, would “launch cycles of recrimination and politically motivated prosecution.”
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