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Trump's lawyer argues that a president can order SEAL Team Six to assassinate his political rival if Congress is cool with it
Sonam Sheth Jan 9, 2024, 12:25 PM ET
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Trump's team has claimed he has immunity from criminal prosecution over his actions when he was in office.
An appeals-court judge stress-tested that argument Tuesday by posing a series of wild hypotheticals.
Trump's lawyer said a president couldn't be prosecuted over an assassination if Congress were OK with it.
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Former President Donald Trump's attorney on Tuesday argued that a president could order the assassination of his political rival and couldn't be prosecuted for it — unless Congress impeached and convicted that commander in chief first.
Trump's lawyer made the argument in a contentious appeals-court hearing Tuesday in the special counsel Jack Smith's election-interference case against the former president.
Trump's legal team has repeatedly argued that the ex-president has "absolute immunity" from criminal prosecution related to his acts while in office (a claim many legal experts reject).