Donald Trump’s bid to evade criminal accountability for seeking to undo the 2020 election results might finally be hitting a brick wall. With Trump in attendance, a three-judge federal appeals court panel seemed ready to reject the former president’s preposterous assertion of absolute immunity from prosecution for his official conduct, even after leaving office.
Washington
Opinion | Trump’s sly ‘I’m immune from prosecution’ claim finally runs aground
The audacity of Trump’s claim has been evident since he raised it in the fall, as was the near-certainty that it would ultimately fail. Still, there was something clarifying about hearing his motion to dismiss demolished by the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: George H.W. Bush appointee Karen L. Henderson, joined by Biden nominees Florence Y. Pan and J. Michelle Childs.
“We think we had a very good day today,” Trump predictably declared after the oral argument Tuesday. But his spin does not make it so. The panel’s questions got to the heart of Trump’s staggering overreach. Their hypotheticals exposed the intolerable consequences of establishing such immunity.
And they confronted Trump lawyer D. John Sauer with the concessions his legal predecessors had made on Trump’s behalf long before: in the New York criminal investigation, that Trump enjoyed only “temporary presidential immunity,” while in office; in the second impeachment trial, that Trump could be criminally charged and so didn’t need to be convicted.
“We have a judicial process in this country. We have an investigative process in this country to which no former officeholder is immune,” Trump lawyer David Schoen said at the time of the second impeachment. “That is the process that should be running its course. That is … the appropriate one for investigation, prosecution and punishment.”
If there was any question, going into the argument, about whether Henderson would join the two Biden nominees, her comments suggested the likelihood of a unanimous result, upholding the trial judge’s ruling against Trump.
Henderson expressed some hesitation about the consequences of such a decision, asking: “How do we write an opinion that will stop the floodgates” of tit-for-tat prosecutions of former presidents? But she also questioned Sauer’s argument about Trump’s asserted immunity. “I think it’s paradoxical to say that [Trump’s] constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal laws,” Henderson observed.
The most chilling part of the Trump team’s argument — the part that revealed the implications of granting presidents the broad immunity Trump claims — involved SEAL Team 6, the elite military unit. Pan put the question to Sauer: “Could a president order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival?”
Sauer hedged, saying a president who issued such an order would be quickly impeached and convicted — the necessary predicate, he argued, for launching a criminal prosecution.
Pan pressed Sauer. “So, he’s not impeached or convicted, we’ll put that aside,” Pan said, “you’re saying a president could sell pardons, could sell military secrets, could order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival.”
Assistant special counsel James Pearce underscored the unthinkable consequences of that position. “What kind of world are we living in if … a president orders his SEAL Team to assassinate a political rival and resigns, for example, before an impeachment — not a criminal act,” he said. “A president sells a pardon, resigns or is not impeached — not a crime. I think that is an extraordinarily frightening future.”
There’s a subtle but important legal point embedded here as well. As Pan noted, the interchange revealed an inherent weakness in Trump’s argument: If a president who has gone through House impeachment and Senate conviction can be prosecuted, then the immunity that the Trump team claims is obviously not absolute. And if Trump’s lawyers are wrong about the necessity of prior impeachment proceedings — and they are, for reasons I’ll explain — then their case falls apart.
“Once you concede that presidents can be prosecuted under some circumstances, your separation-of-powers argument falls away and the issues before us are narrowed to: Are you correct in your interpretation of the impeachment judgment clause — does the impeachment judgment clause actually say what you say it says?” Pan told Sauer. “That’s all that really we need to decide.”
The impeachment clause of the Constitution provides that “the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.” Trump’s lawyers take that to mean that subsequent prosecution is barred if impeachment or conviction fail.
But as U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan pointed out in rejecting Trump’s argument last month, “reading the Clause to grant absolute criminal immunity to former Presidents would contravene its plain meaning, original understanding, and common sense.” The purpose was to permit prosecution in spite of Senate conviction, Chutkan noted, not to prevent it in the absence of impeachment proceedings.
There are additional wrinkles here. The court could rule that Trump doesn’t even have the right to appeal at this early stage in his criminal trial, although the special counsel agrees with Trump’s lawyers that the appeal is permitted before trial and possible conviction. As a practical matter, that would kick the can down the road but not interfere with prosecutors’ ability to bring the case to trial.
And that is the real point of the immunity dispute. Trump’s lawyers don’t really expect to win it — they just want to run out the clock, past the current March 4 trial date and, preferably, past Election Day. That won’t take just a quick ruling by Tuesday’s panel to avoid, but also an equally swift disposition by the full appeals court or Supreme Court, when the case inevitably comes its way.
Timing isn’t everything here, but it’s awfully close.
An 18-year-old who was shot and wounded in Northwest D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood on Thursday afternoon has died, authorities say.
Brady Flowers Jr., of Southwest, was the victim, police said in an update Saturday.
Flowers was found shot in the 4500 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, behind the CVS store. Jackson-Reed High School and American University are nearby.
Flowers was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and pronounced dead a day later, police said.
Police said 10-15 teens were seen running after the gunshots.
An investigation is underway. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
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Washington
Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Washington County, Highlighting Transportation Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Early Childhood Education
Updated:
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today continued his statewide “Delivering for Maryland” tour with a series of engagements in Washington County, highlighting vital investments in local transportation infrastructure, manufacturing job growth, and early childhood education. The governor emphasized state contributions to modernize the Hagerstown Regional Airport, toured the state-of-the-art Hitachi Rail facility, and celebrated the opening of a new child care center in the South End of Hagerstown funded by the administration’s historic ENOUGH Initiative.
“From investing $1.5 million to update Hagerstown Regional Airport’s aging control tower to supporting 1,300 jobs at Hitachi Rail, the Moore-Miller administration is delivering for Hagerstown, Washington County, and Western Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “Through our administration’s ENOUGH Initiative partnerships and investments, we’ve tripled child care capacity in the South End of Hagerstown — because no parents should be forced to pick between staying in the workforce or securing quality care for their kids.”
The governor began the day at the Hagerstown Regional Airport, touring the Air Traffic Control Tower and airport grounds. During the visit, Governor Moore highlighted the State’s $1.5 million Fiscal Year 2027 investment to complete the design for a critical replacement of the airport’s aging air traffic control facility. As a primary airport in the Maryland Aviation System Plan, the Hagerstown Regional Airport is a vital economic engine for Washington County, supporting more than 1,800 jobs and generating over $140 million in local business revenue.
Following the airport tour, Governor Moore visited the Hitachi Rail STS facility alongside Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, Senator Mike McKay, Senator Paul Corderman and state transportation leaders. The governor toured the factory floor and rode a test train to observe the manufacturing process. Opened in September 2025 with the support of a $1.6 million state conditional loan, the 307,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral facility is a $100 million capital investment by Hitachi. The factory supports 1,300 jobs — including 460 newly created jobs — and is actively manufacturing railcars for both the Maryland Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
“Hitachi Rail has built a cutting-edge model for advanced manufacturing here in Western Maryland which is focused on delivering clean, safe, efficient regional transportation across our state and the rest of the country,” said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. “This facility is powered by Maryland’s second-to-none workforce and world-class innovation environment. I’m proud to work with Governor Moore and our public, private, and philanthropic partners to drive global investment that supports jobs and economic growth along our I-270 Tech Corridor.”
Governor Moore concluded the day at the Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center in the South End of Hagerstown, where he met with parents, children, and community leaders. During the visit, the Governor highlighted the administration’s ENOUGH Initiative, which provided critical support for the center’s opening. The new facility is a major win for the community, tripling local childcare capacity with 24 new slots and generating six new early childhood education jobs.
The Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center’s opening was accelerated by a $100,000 investment from San Mar Family & Community Services, the ENOUGH grantee in Hagerstown. ENOUGH grant funding was also supplemented by a $100,000 philanthropic contribution from the Bainum Family Foundation — a member of the ENOUGH Alliance — to complete necessary facility upgrades. The center’s completion underscores the strength of the ENOUGH Initiative’s public-private partnerships to deliver on community priorities and work towards ending child poverty.
Governor Moore’s visit to Washington County follows the third stop of his “Delivering for Maryland” tour in Montgomery County, where he marked a historic milestone by installing the final segment of rail for the Purple Line. This installation completes the 16.2-mile light rail corridor connecting Bethesda and New Carrollton, with passenger service expected to begin in late 2027. The governor also visited Max’s Best Ice Cream in Bethesda, a local business dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Best Buddies Jobs program.
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A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top justice department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.
The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and US attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the 25 April event at the Washington Hilton hotel when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.
In a court filing late on Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.
“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder – how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged US district judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other justice department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.
“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.
Pirro said her office would respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.
“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday on further charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.
The charges include attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the justice department last year. Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.
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