Trump Claims Immunity Extends Even to Acts That ‘Cross the Line’

Former President Donald J. Trump said on Friday night that American presidents deserve complete immunity from prosecution even for acts that “cross the line,” contending for the second time this week that the holder of the nation’s highest office should effectively remain beyond the reach of criminal law.

Mr. Trump’s remarks on his social media platform, Truth Social, were the latest signal that he seems to view the presidency as an office unbounded by the normal checks of the criminal justice system. The statements were made as Mr. Trump was seeking to build on his dominant position in the race for the Republican nomination with a decisive win in the New Hampshire primary next week.

Mr. Trump’s statements appeared to go further than legal arguments that one of his lawyers made in his efforts to use sweeping claims of executive immunity to dismiss a federal indictment he is facing accusing him of plotting to illegally overturn the 2020 election.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Washington expressed deep skepticism about Mr. Trump’s immunity arguments, suggesting it was unlikely to rule in his favor on a central element of his defense in the case. The appeals court panel could make its ruling at any time.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer took the position during the appellate court hearing that presidents could be prosecuted for things they did in office, no matter how extreme, only if they were first convicted in an impeachment proceeding. Taken at face value, Mr. Trump’s statements this week, which made no reference to impeachment, suggested that he believes there are no circumstances that would allow presidents to be held accountable under criminal law.

In his post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said that presidents “must have full immunity” to avoid indictments being filed against them by “the opposing party.” The protections of immunity, he added, should extend even to “events that ‘cross the line.’”