Smith explained that Trump’s argument meant a president could be exempt from prosecution if he claimed he was acting in his official capacity.

According to Jack Smith, allowing former president Donald Trump to claim the presidential immunity defence could allow a president claim immunity for numerous charges including murder and the selling of nuclear secrets as long as they were done under the pretext of official activities.

Trump has claimed that he’s immune from criminal prosecution for his official duties as president. But Smith’s Office, which accused Trump of allegedly trying to overturn the election in 2020 in his favor in an 82 page court filing on Saturday, strongly denied these claims.

Smith argued that Trump’s “approach” would give immunity to criminal prosecution for a president who accepts a payment in exchange for awarding a lucrative contract to a payer, a president who instructs the FBI director to plant evidence against a political opponent, a presidential who orders his National Guard to kill his most prominent critics or a presidential who sells nuclear secret to a foreign enemy.

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The prosecution said that the President in each of these examples could claim that he is simply following laws and be immune from prosecution.

Smith filed the complaint in the D.C. Court of Appeals, after the Supreme Court rejected his request earlier this month to rule on Trump’s immunity claims prior to an appeals court making a decision.

Smith argued that even if Trump won the presidential immunity case, the case still shouldn’t be dismissed, because the accusations against him go beyond his official duties.

The indictment contained substantial allegations about a plot that was intended to reverse the election results, which fell outside of the official presidential responsibilities.