The Department of Justice and the Attorney General of the United States assure that former President Donald Trump does not enjoy immunity from lawsuits filed against him for his conduct and the role he played during the assault on the Capitol in January 2021.
The US Justice Administration urges the Court of Appeals to reject and dismiss Trump’s theses, in the framework of the civil litigation over the assault, arguing that a president cannot be immune when speaking about matters of public interest.
“No part of the official responsibilities of a president includes incitement to violence,” the Department of Justice said this Thursday in a letter collected by CNN and which marks the first time that the Joe Biden Administration has ruled on the matter. of Trump’s immunity.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1982 that presidents are totally immune from civil damages that could arise as a consequence of their official acts in the exercise of their functions. The Biden Administration now considers that this benefit should be left out when it comes to incitement to violence.
A lower court recently issued a ruling stating that former President Trump cannot invoke presidential immunity since a president’s efforts to “secure or perpetuate himself in office” are not part of the White House’s role. Trump, for his part, has appealed this judicial decision.
Former President Trump is being investigated for his role in the assault on the Capitol when a mob of ultra-nationalists related to the then-president broke into the headquarters of the US Legislature to try to stop the transfer of power in favor of Joe Biden, winner of the elections. previous.
