Should Trump be immune from criminal prosecution? What Americans said in a new poll
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As a federal court weighs whether former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution, the court of public opinion has already spoken, revealing most Americans believe he should not receive special protection, according to a new poll.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64%, believe Trump should not be immune from prosecution for actions he undertook while president, according to a CBS News/YouGov survey.
A little more than one-third of Americans, 36%, said Trump should be immune, according to the survey.
The matter largely divided Americans along partisan lines with 69% of Republicans and only 14% of Democrats supporting immunity. About one-third of independents, 32%, said he should be immune.
The survey, released on Jan. 8, polled a representative sample of 2,157 U.S. adults between Jan. 3 and 5. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
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Trump in court
The results were released the day before Trump headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where prosecutors accused him of attempting to defraud the government and disenfranchise voters through his effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
The case was brought to the court after Trump appealed a lower court decision, which rejected his immunity claim, according to Reuters.
It follows an indictment unveiled against Trump this summer by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s legal team has argued that, as a former president, he cannot face criminal charges related to official actions he undertook as president.
The judges, however, showed “deep skepticism” that the former president is safeguarded from prosecution, according to The Associated Press.
During arguments, the three judges — two of whom President Joe Biden appointed — expressed doubt that the nation’s founders intended ex-presidents to have total immunity, per the outlet.
“Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival, who was not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution?” Judge Florence Pan asked Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, during the hearing.
Sauer responded that a hypothetical president who ordered the killing of a rival could be prosecuted only if first impeached and convicted.
Judge Pan: Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival, who was not impeached, would he be subject to a criminal prosecution?
John Sauer: If he were impeached and convicted first.
Pan: So, your answer is no?
Sauer: My answer is qualified yes. pic.twitter.com/cAiunKxOwl— CSPAN (@cspan) January 9, 2024
Following the hearing, Trump told reporters, “I think it’s very unfair when a opponent, a political opponent is prosecuted by the DOJ, by Biden’s DOJ,” adding “I think they feel this is the way they’re going to try and win.”
Once the court makes a ruling, Trump will have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
The hearing comes on the eve of the primary season, which kicks off on Jan. 15 with the Republican Iowa caucus.
Trump is ahead of his GOP challengers by a wide margin in Iowa and other early primary states, per FiveThirtyEight, a polling analysis site.
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