Donald Trump urges federal appeals court to grant him immunity in election subversion case

Former US President Donald TrumpTrumpTrump has urged a federal appeals court to throw out the federal election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC, arguing that he is protected under presidential immunity, CNN reported.

Trump wants the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower-court ruling rejecting his claims of immunity in special counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case. The appeals panel is weighing Trump's request, which the Supreme Court on Friday refused to take up on an expedited basis, as Smith requested.

As per CNN, the filing reiterates what the former president's lawyers have repeatedly asserted: that Trump was working in his official capacity as president to "ensure election integrity" when he allegedly undermined the 2020 election results and therefore has immunity and that his indictment is unconstitutional because presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for "official acts" unless they are impeached and convicted by the Senate.