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Donald Trump has asked a Georgia judge to throw out the election fraud case against him, arguing that he is protected by presidential immunity.
Mr Trump is among 19 people charged with a conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
But his lawyers said “no President ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office”.
If the judge accepts the claim, it would mark a massive expansion of the president’s powers of immunity.
“From 1789 to 2023, no President ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office,” Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote in the Monday filing. “That unbroken historic tradition of presidential immunity is rooted in the separation of powers and the text of the Constitution.”
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court hearing in DC will hear arguments over the same presidential immunity claims as Mr Trump tries to throw out a separate election interference case brought forward by special counsel Jack Smith.
Mr Trump is expected to attend the hearing before the three judge panel.
The former president has for years cited presidential immunity in his efforts to thwart civil and criminal cases brought against him.
But this defence was already “convincingly and comprehensively” rejected by US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan in December, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told the BBC.
Ms Chutkan wrote that the presidency does not “confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass” on past holders of the office.
Mr Trump’s lawyers also argued the Georgia criminal case should be tossed out on grounds of double jeopardy – that he was already tried and acquitted on similar charges in the US Senate following the Capitol riot in 2021.
Finally, in a separate motion, Mr Trump’s lawyers argued that the case violates his due process and First Amendment rights.
“President Trump did not have fair warning that his alleged conduct, pure political speech and expressive conduct challenging an election, could be criminalized,” the filing says.
Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis brought the charges against Mr Trump and 18 others last year, in a 41-count indictment for alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Mr Trump was charged with 13 criminal counts including an alleged violation of Georgia’s Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico).
His other charges include solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiring to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery, conspiring to commit false statements, and writing and conspiring to file false documents.
Prosecutors have suggested an August 2024 trial date, which would disrupt Mr Trump’s general campaign if he is chosen as the Republican presidential nominee.
Four of Mr Trump’s co-accused have pleaded guilty in the case.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
