Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall appeared on ABC News on Thursday to discuss the current status of former President Donald Trump's presidential immunity claim. Legal battle It concerns hush money payments that were allegedly made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Marshall questioned the legal basis of the lawsuit brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the political motivations of those involved.

“Look at where power has already been abused,” Marshall said. “It took 30 months for the special counsel to bring these charges on facts that have been in the press for quite some time. And when they think about the issue of delay — whether there will be a timely trial — they need look no further than President Trump's trial team.”

“The question is, why did the special counsel have to wait so long to bring these charges in the first place?”

Marshall, along with 22 other state attorneys general, filed a brief with the Supreme Court in February supporting their request to halt former President Trump's trial until the court first rules on his claim of presidential immunity. Asked whether Trump was acting politically or officially as president in this case, Marshall said the answer was well-founded.

“In fact, if you look at the arguments that are being made in court, Trump's lawyers have clearly stated that this immunity claim has nothing to do with private conduct, it only relates to the official business of the president. This is entirely consistent with how we've treated the president under civil law, and allows for absolute immunity for official business that is broader than simply applying to President Trump,” Marshall said.

“This has to do with the president's ability to leave the executive branch without looking back. We think that's an important argument, and in fact the special counsel must believe the same thing, because he tried to get the Supreme Court to consider it before the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled on it first.”

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Later in the interview, Marshall said that Trump “did not bring this on himself” and that “this is the first time we've had to consider whether presidential immunity applies to a criminal prosecution. ” He also called for attention to state efforts to bring criminal charges against the former president.

“In fact, it's not just the prosecutors who have brought this case who have waited months before they could bring charges. Look at what's going on in Georgia, where prosecutors are campaigning on whether or not to investigate Donald Trump.”

“I've been a prosecutor for nearly 30 years, and my responsibility is to follow the facts, not follow people. What we've seen with the effort around Donald Trump is an effort to convict people through results-driven investigations, not letting the facts dictate the prosecution,” Marshall said.

Austin Shipley is a staff writer for Yellow Hammer News.