Donald Trump does not have immunity from charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat, a federal court has ruled.
The US Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s claim that he cannot be prosecuted because the allegations relate to his official responsibilities as President.
The move brings the former president a step closer to an unprecedented criminal trial.
Trump claimed in the landmark legal case that he was immune from criminal charges for acts which fell within his duties as president.
Donald Trump does not have immunity from charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat, a federal court has ruledReutersThe ruling rebuffs 77-year-old's attempt to avoid a trial on charges that he undermined American democracy and the transfer of power.
Trump is charged with four counts of crimes including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The ex-president has pleaded not guilty.
Last year, he filed a motion to drop the federal indictment brought by the special counsel Jack Smith, which charged the former president over his efforts to revoke the 2020 election.
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This included claims he advanced fake slates of electors and obstructed Congress on 6 January 2021.
The three-judge panel wrote in the 57-page opinion: "We have balanced former President Trump’s asserted interests in executive immunity against the vital public interests that favor allowing this prosecution to proceed.]
"We conclude that ‘[concerns] 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."
Earlier this month, a panel of judges heard the case at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington DC.
Trump is charged with four counts of crimes including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
GETTYTrump's lawyer argued that a president who is not convicted for impeachment by Congress cannot be subject to criminal proceedings.
His team noted that despite being impeached by the House of Representatives but wasn't convicted by the Senate.
The case could be delayed for weeks, or months, if it ends up before the Supreme Court.