Trump asks appeals court to dismiss election subversion case because of immunity claims

Former President Donald Trump asked the federal appeals court in D.C. to dismiss the case against him related to claims of election subversion, arguing that he was acting officially to protect election integrity and has immunity from prosecution.

Prosecutors in the case had already asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case quickly to prevent delays, but the high court declined on Friday to do so.

Trump argued that the case is unconstitutional because the only way to prosecute a sitting president under the Constitution is to impeach him in the House and convict him in the Senate, which did not happen.

The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments in the case for Jan. 9, an expedited timeline that seeks to keep the case's timeline as intact as possible.

District Judge Tanya Chutkan has scheduled the trial in the underlying case to begin in March, but the appeal has put the process on hold.

It is obviously to Trump's advantage to delay the trial until after the 2024 election; if he wins the election, he could have his DOJ dismiss the case or pardon himself.