Trump is not immune from election-subversion prosecution, judge rules

Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution for his attempt to subvert the 2020 election, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Friday, concluding that his term as president does not serve as a shield against charges that he sought to defraud and disenfranchise millions of Americans.

“Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” Chutkan ruled in a 48-page opinion, sweeping aside Trump’s most intricate attempt to derail the case against him.

“A former President’s exposure to federal criminal liability is essential to fulfilling our constitutional promise of equal justice under the law,” Chutkan ruled.

Trump is almost certain to appeal the ruling, which appears to be ultimately headed for the Supreme Court, igniting the most important test yet of special counsel Jack Smith’s Washington, D.C. case against Trump.