A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution because of his position as President of the United States.
The court issued the ruling, signed PER CURIAM, which means not one of the three judges who heard the case takes credit for authoring the opinion and that no judge dissented. They are Karen L. Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, J. Michelle Childs, a Biden appointee, and Florence Y. Pan, another Biden appointee. The opinion says that “’[c]oncerns of public policy, especially as illuminated by our history and the structure of our government’ compel the rejection of his claim of immunity in this case.” The judges also said his claim of double jeopardy was not convincing and that the claim of categorical immunity for acts performed as President of the United States is “a contention that is unsupported by precedent, history or the text and structure of the Constitution.
Appellants who lose their cases before three-judge panels at the Courts of Appeals may choose to apply for review to the United States Supreme Court or, before the Court of Appeals a second time, in what’s called en banc review. This is a re-hearing where all the judges in the circuit participate. There are sixteen judges on the court, including three Trump appointees.
