In a high-stakes courtroom battle, former President Donald Trump's legal team faced a skeptical audience as they argued that he cannot be prosecuted for actions taken while in office. The crux of their argument is that because Trump was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate, he is protected from any further prosecution. However, the judges posed various hypothetical scenarios to test this argument, challenging the team's stance.
Judge Florence Pan sought to stress-test the argument by asking whether a president could order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival. The response was that if the president were impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution, there would be no criminal liability. While the former president's lawyers attempted to navigate these hypotheticals, they were ultimately cornered on the idea that only an impeachment and conviction would allow for a criminal prosecution against Trump.
