A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was informed by the attorney for former president Donald Trump that a president was immune to prosecution unless impeached and found guilty, even if he was accused of ordering the US military to kill a rival.

Trump’s attorney, D John Sauer, informed Judges Michelle Childs, Florence Pan, and Karen Henderson during Tuesday’s arguments in a Washington, DC, courtroom that the US Constitution’s impeachment and double jeopardy clauses shield him from prosecution according to Independant.

Sauer cited the Senate’s 2021 acquittal of the former president on allegations that he instigated the Capitol attack on January 6.

President Joe Biden’s 2022 nominee for the circuit court, Judge Florence Pan, started grilling Trump’s lawyer D John Sauer about his assertion almost immediately.

She questioned Mr Sauer about the possibility that a president might, in theory, sell pardons or command the US military to assassinate an opponent and escape legal repercussions.

“I understand your position to be that a president is immune from criminal prosecution for any official act that he takes as president even if that action is taken for an unlawful or unconstitutional purpose, is that correct?” she said.

In response, he said that prosecution would only be permitted if the Senate found someone guilty.