Appeals court allows civil lawsuits against Trump over Capitol storming
"A president does not spend every minute of every day performing official duties," the court order states. "And when he acts outside the duties of his office, he does not enjoy immunity from claims for damages simply because he is the president." Trump could appeal against the court decision.
The background to this are civil lawsuits brought against Trump by two police officers and several members of parliament from the Democratic Party. They hold the then president partly responsible for the violence on January 6, 2021 and are demanding compensation.
Radical Trump supporters had stormed the Capitol to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from being confirmed as the winner of the November 2020 presidential election. Shortly before the attack, Republican Trump had called on his supporters to march to the Capitol and fight "come hell or high water". The incumbent, who was voted out of office, had previously falsely claimed for weeks that he had been deprived of re-election by massive electoral fraud.
Trump now argues that his statements on the 2020 election were part of his duties as president. The right-wing populist, who wants to run again in the presidential election in a year's time, claims that he enjoys immunity for all his statements during his presidency.
However, the Federal Court of Appeal in Washington rejected this claim on Friday. A distinction had to be made between official presidential duties and actions outside the scope of duties. For example, an incumbent president's campaign for re-election is "not an official presidential act", the judges wrote. An election campaign speech is also not an exercise of the official duties of a president. "He is then acting as a candidate for office, not as the holder of an office."
The US Department of Justice had already argued similarly in March in a statement on the case. Although a president enjoys immunity for actions in the exercise of his office, he can be sued for actions that are clearly outside the scope of his official duties. "Incitement to imminent private violence" is not the duty of a president, the ministry explained.
The question of Trump's possible immunity does not only arise in the civil proceedings against the ex-president over the Capitol storming. The 77-year-old is also claiming immunity in the criminal proceedings at federal level against Trump for his attempts to hold on to power after his election defeat in 2020.
The special prosecutor in charge of the case, Jack Smith, who brought charges against Trump in August, rejects this. A court decision is still pending in the criminal proceedings.
Lesen Sie auch:
- Trump may choose to challenge the court's decision in the Court of Appeal, asserting that he should be immune from civil lawsuits related to the Capitol storming due to his former position as President.
- The civil lawsuits against Trump were initiated by two police officers and Democratic politicians, who allege that Trump bears some responsibility for the violence during the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
- Trump, during his time as President, encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol and fight, despite Democrat Joe Biden's confirmation as the winner of the November 2020 presidential election.
- Trump's false accusations of massive electoral fraud led many of his supporters to believe that he had been unfairly denied re-election, which in turn contributed to the storming of the Capitol.
- The Federal Court of Appeal in Washington rejected Trump's claim of immunity in the civil suit, stating that there is a distinction between official presidential duties and actions outside the scope of those duties.
- The US Department of Justice previously argued that while a President may enjoy immunity for actions within the scope of their official duties, they can be sued for actions deemed clearly outside those duties.
- Trump's argument that his statements on the 2020 election were part of his official duties as President was met with skepticism by the Federal Court of Appeal.
- The question of Trump's immunity extends beyond the Capitol storming civil suit, as he also asserts immunity in federal criminal proceedings related to his attempts to retain power after losing the 2020 election.
- The special prosecutor handling the criminal case against Trump, Jack Smith, has rejected Trump's immunity claims, and a court decision in the case is still pending.
Source: www.stern.de
