TRANSCRIPT
The three-judge panel rejected Mr Trump's claim that he cannot be prosecuted because the allegations related to his official responsibilities as president.
In a statement, the judges dispute Mr Trump’s claims.
'We cannot accept former President Trump's claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power - the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count."
Donald Trump's lawyers argued that former presidents are entitled to sweeping legal protections and can't be criminally prosecuted for official actions unless impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate.
The judges says Mr Trump's claim to immunity is invalid.
"We conclude that concerns of public policy, especially as illuminated by our history and the structure of our government, compel the rejection of his claim of immunity in this case."
Donald Trump was impeached on two occasions, but, each time, his allies in the Republican Party in the U-S Senate cast sufficient votes to acquit him of the charges.
Last August, Special Counsel Jack Smith outlined the basis for the prosecution.
"Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. The attack on our nation's Capitol on January 6th, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies. Lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election."
Speaking last month, Donald Trump alleged the prosecution was political, driven by President Joe Biden, in collaboration with the Department of Justice.
"I think it's very unfair when an opponent, a political opponent is prosecuted by the DOJ, by Biden's DOJ. So they're losing in every poll. They're losing in almost every demographic. Numbers came out today that are really very mind boggling if you happen to be Joe Biden. And I think they feel this is the way they're going to try and win. When they talk about threat to democracy, that's your real threat to democracy. And I feel that as a president, you have to have immunity. Very simple."
The legal proceedings have delayed a trial which had been set down to start on the 4th of March, but is now expected to be delayed weeks or months.
And the Republican primary front-runner is hoping to delay it until after the November election.
This case is one of four criminal prosecutions Donald Trump faces as he seeks to regain the presidency.
He also faces federal charges in the state of Florida that he illegally retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In the state of Georgia, he's charged with scheming to subvert that state's 2020 election result, and in New York, he's facing a trial over hush money payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Donald Trump denies all wrongdoing.
