FORMER President Donald Trump (Shutterstock).

Former president Donald Trump is not entitled to immunity from prosecution for his role in interference in the 2022 presidential election, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia – with two appointees of President Joe Biden and one Republican– is almost certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the court wrote. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

In response, Trump posted on his Truth Social that a president “must have full immunity in order to properly function and do what has to be done for the good of our country.”

If the high court declines to consider the appeal, it will allow the trial of Trump to proceed

Impeachment of HLS leader fails

By a narrow margin, the House of Representatives fell short of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS (Wikipedia).

Republicans sought to formally accuse Mayorkas for problems with immigration at the Mexican border, but a few GOP congressman were skeptical that his performance reached the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors” specified by the U.S. Constitution.

All 212 House Democrats voted against the impeachment, joined by four Republicans. Two hundred and fourteen GOP representatives voted in favor.

The issue could be raised again; House Speaker Mike Johnson had stated he believed he had enough votes to prevail. If two Republicans could be persuaded to switch votes, the impeachment would prevail, but is almost certain to fail in the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

Mother of killer found guilty

Jennifer Crumbley, mother of the teenage boy who fatally shot four persons and wounded seven others at a Michigan high school in 2021, was convicted Tuesday on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

It took the jury 11 hours to reach a decision. Crumbley, 45, now faces up to 15 years in prison. Her husband, James Crumbley, will go on trial in March.

The pistol used by Ethan Crumbley was a gift from his parents. The prosecutor claimed that his parents ignored warning signs of disturbing behavior by their son, including him writing “blood everywhere” on a math worksheet the morning of the shootings.

His backpack – which contained the pistol – was not searched.

Hamas “positive” on hostage exchange

The Hamas group which triggered the bloody conflict with Israel in October is said to have a “positive” reaction to a proposed agreement to exchange hostages held by the militants for a “pause” in the conflict with Israel.

HAMAS vs. Israel (Shutterstock).

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Egyptian president on Tuesday and is expected to meet with Israeli officials.

About 1,600 Israelis were killed in the initial attack by Hamas militants and hundreds held hostage. In turn, at least 23,000 Gazans have died, many more wounded and hundreds of thousands rendered homeless.

The U.S. continues to advocate for an independent Palestinian state, which has been rejected by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Weather: Clouds, then sunshine

The powerful rain storms which hammered much of Southern California took it relatively easy on our West Orange County area. The tail of the storm is forecast to have left the area on Wednesday. The daytime high should be 61 with an overnight low of 46 under partly cloudy skies. Thursday will be similar.

Friday and Saturday will have sunny skies with daytime highs creeping up daily from 61 to 65, with overnight lows in the range of 43 to 46.