Will presidential immunity save Donald Trump from prosecution in Washington DC?
By US Correspondent Dan Rivers and US News Editor Jonathan Wald
Donald Trump claimed he was forced to come to court today. But he didn't have to - he chose to attend.
He claimed on social media he was forced to attend. That was wrong.
So why was he there? He knows his presence furthers his martyrdom narrative. Each time he appears in court, it raises huge amounts of cash for his campaign. It also deflects attention from his rival Republican candidates, as they conduct their last few days of campaigning ahead of the Iowa Caucuses. They will be the first official test of Trump's support for the nomination.
The 45th president didn't speak in court, but wasted no time in speaking to the press shortly after the hearing. He sought to cast the Department of Justice's (DoJ) case - which accuses him of attempting to obstruct the 2020 election result - as a politically motivated prosecution to stop him securing a second term.
He claimed it was "very unfair when an opponent, a political opponent, is prosecuted by the DoJ, by Biden's DoJ".
"This is the way they are going to try and win. That's not the way it goes. It'll be bedlam in the country it's a very bad thing, it's a very bad precedent," Trump added.
"As we said it's the opening of a Pandora's box... They talk about a threat to democracy. That's the real threat to democracy."
Donald Trump said there will be 'bedlam in the country' if he continues to be prosecuted
He doubled down on false claims he won the last election saying: "We found tremendous voter fraud. We have a list of it."
No evidence of voter fraud or election irregularities were found.
The appeal hearing before three judges centred around whether the DoJ case should be blocked because Trump enjoyed presidential immunity. Trump's lawyers argued a president's actions cannot be subjected to prosecution, unless he is impeached by the Senate and convicted. They claim that undermining presidential immunity would mean future presidents would be "looking over their shoulder" while in office, fearful of being put on trial for their actions.
But the DoJ's lawyer, James Pearce, denied this would "open the floodgates" for prosecutions of presidents. He claimed the country would face a "frightening future" if the ruling allowed a president to order a domestic political assassination of his rival and knew they would not face a criminal trial.
"What kind of world are we living in if, as I understand, my friend on the other side is to say here, a president orders his SEAL team to assassinate a political rival and resigns, for example before an impeachment, [it would not be]… a criminal act," Pearce said.
"I think that should weigh extraordinarily heavily in the court's consideration," he added.
The three female judges all appeared sceptical of Trump's arguments in this case. A District Court judge has already rejected Trump's arguments that a president has immunity from prosecution under the second article of the Constitution.
If he loses at the US Court of Appeals, it's highly likely Trump's team will seek a final decision from the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Justices have already indicated they will rule on the 14th Amendment Cases, which attempt to remove Trump from the ballot in Colorado and Maine.
Trump is facing more immediate legal jeopardy from other cases, for example in New York where a judge will soon rule on the size of the fine the Trump organisation will face in relation to fraudulently inflating property values. New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking for a fine of $327 million (£260 million). It may be accompanied by a ban on Trump conducting business in New York.
But Trump has already given some clues about how he will frame the federal January 6 case: he wants to use it to bolster his false claims that Joe Biden is trying to prevent him from running in the election.
There are ten months to go, but already we have seen Trump's strategy: I'm the candidate the establishment is trying to stop. They are coming for me, then they'll come for you. Only I can save American Democracy.
The man who is accused of seeking to overturn the election, is now claiming he is its saviour. Welcome to the one of the most surreal campaigns in US history.
Want a quick, expert briefing on the biggest stories of the day? Listen to What You Need To Know...