Criminal-defense expert: Trump's attempt to have appeals court grant him immunity was doomed from the outset, which former president should have known

Donald Trump surrounded by lawyers

Donald V. Watkins, longtime Alabama attorney and one of the nation's foremost authorities on criminal defense (see here and here), says Donald Trump's attempt to have a court declare that absolute immunity shielded him from prosecution for alleged criminal acts committed while he served his first term as president (2017-2021) was an exercise in futility. That's because no provision of law allowed the D.C. Circuit Court to grant the relief Trump was seeking. In short, Trump's complaint was little more than a glorified "snipe hunt," which he is expected to continue by filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. -- even though there is little chance the result will change.

Under the headline "D.C. Appeals Court: There is No Presidential Immunity for Criminal Acts," Watkins writes:

Today, a federal court of appeals in Washington confirmed for the public what most competent lawyers knew all along – there is no such thing in U.S. law as presidential immunity for criminal acts.

None of the 46 U.S. presidents has ever enjoyed such immunity.

Presidential immunity for criminal acts is not authorized in the U.S. Constitution. It is not authorized in any federal statute. It is not authorized in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Such an immunity claim is merely a figment of Donald Trump’s imagination.  This was a “bullshit” legal argument when it was first asserted by Trump’s lawyers.

We are NOT running a monarchy in America.  There is no King, Queen, or Emperor, who is above in law.

How is that for a succinct explanation of why Trump's case was dead on arrival? Pretty strong, I would say. One of Trump's high-priced lawyers should have explained that to him, and perhaps one of them tried, but Trump would not listen. So Trump's lawyers proceeded to do what they seem to do best -- billing their client. Writes Watkins:

No man, woman, or child in the U.S. is above the law. This is a bedrock principle of American law. This is the one feature of American democracy that separates the U.S. from every other nation on the planet.

Trump had an opportunity to pardon himself for any and all crimes he may have committed as president before he left office in January 2021, but he failed to exercise this presidential power for his own benefit.

You can read the appeals-court ruling in U.S. v. Trump here.