Washington DC, United States

Former US president Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday (Mar 19) to grant him absolute immunity in the federal election interference case, claiming that a ruling against him will "incapacitate every future president." 

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He said that former presidents are entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for steps taken while in office, and argued that the "long history of not prosecuting" his predecessors shows that he cannot be criminally prosecuted.

"From 1789 to 2023, no former, or current, president faced criminal charges for his official acts — for good reason," Trump's lawyers said in court.

"The president cannot function, and the presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence, if the president faces criminal prosecution for official acts once he leaves office," they added. 

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“A denial of criminal immunity would incapacitate every future President with de facto blackmail and extortion while in office, and condemn him to years of post-office trauma at the hands of his political opponents,” Trump’s legal team further said.

'SC's decision will affect presidency for the rest of nation's history'

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Lawyer D John Sauer submitted a 51-page filing and appealed to the Supreme Court to reverse a decision of the lower court which rejected his claim of immunity and appealed that the charges filed against him should be dismissed.

Sauer said that the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity will have consequences which will not be confined to Trump, but rather "will affect the presidency itself for the rest of our nation's history." 

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"This court should not adopt a rule that creates the appearance of a President Trump-only gerrymander. That would be the antithesis of the rule of law," he said. 

Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to look into the decision of the federal appeals court in Washington which said that Trump can be prosecuted for alleged attempts made for subverting presidential power transfer after the 2020 election and scheduled arguments for April 25. 

The question which is being considered by the justices is "whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office." 

As per the phrasing, the justices are not looking into claims made by Trump that the presidents can be criminally charged only if the House has first impeached them and the Senate has convicted them. 

(With inputs from agencies)