Lawyers for Donald Trump have asked a judge to dismiss a federal election subversion case against him, arguing the Republican is immune from prosecution for actions they say were taken in his official role as president.
The motion amounts to the most pointed attack yet by defence lawyers on the federal case in Washington DC charging Mr Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
They argue that the actions that form the basis of the indictment, including urging the Justice Department to investigate claims of voter fraud and pressing state officials on the administration of elections, cut to the core of Mr Trump’s responsibilities as commander in chief.
“Breaking 234 years of precedent, the incumbent administration has charged President Trump for acts that lie not just within the ‘outer perimeter’, but at the heart of his official responsibilities as president,” the defence motion says.
“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.”
The presidential immunity argument had been foreshadowed for weeks by defence lawyers as one of multiple challenges they intend to bring against the indictment, among the four criminal cases he is facing.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team appeared to anticipate the argument, saying in the indictment that though political candidates are permitted to challenge election losses, Mr Trump’s actions strayed far beyond what is legally permissible.
Prosecutors are expected to contest the motion.
