Donald Trump in court as judges express scepticism over immunity claims

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

57% : Making his first court appearance in Washington since his arraignment in August, Trump sat at the defence table, watching closely and occasionally taking notes and speaking with his lawyers.
56% : After the hearing, Trump spoke to reporters at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, which used to be the Trump International Hotel, calling Tuesday "a very momentous day".
46% : Underscoring the importance to both sides, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner, attended Tuesday's arguments even though the Iowa caucuses are just a week away and despite the fact there is no requirement for defendants appear in person for such proceedings.
31% : That argument was rejected last month by the lower court judge overseeing the case against Trump, and the appeal judges suggested through their questions that they were also dubious that the Founding Fathers envisioned absolute immunity for presidents after they leave office.
28% : "To authorise the prosecution of a president for official acts would open a Pandora's box from which this nation may never recover," said D John Sauer, a lawyer for Trump, claiming that, under the government's theory, presidents could be prosecuted for giving Congress "false information" to enter war or for authorising drone strikes targeting US citizens abroad.
27% : Former presidents enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits for actions taken as part of their official White House duties, but because no former president before Trump has ever been indicted, courts have never addressed whether that protection extends to criminal prosecution.
25% : Donald Trump has attended court in Washington as federal appeal judges expressed deep scepticism that the former president is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
24% : The outcome could carry enormous ramifications for the landmark criminal case against Trump and for the broader, and legally untested, question of whether an ex-president can be prosecuted for actions taken in the White House.
20% : Judge Henderson and Judge Florence Pan noted that the lawyer who represented Trump during his impeachment trial suggested he could later face criminal prosecution, telling senators at the time: "We have a judicial process in this country.

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