Justice - Trump impeachment: Hearing in Georgia, defeat in Washington
Former US President Donald Trump is the subject of several lawsuits - and on Friday he suffered two defeats. In the US capital Washington, the judge in charge of his federal proceedings in connection with attempted election fraud rejected Trump's motion to dismiss the case.
The Republican had based this on the immunity of the presidential office. "Defendant's four years of service as Commander-in-Chief did not confer upon him the divine right of kings to escape the criminal liability that applies to his fellow citizens," the judge wrote in her ruling. The trial is due to begin early next year.
Last word not yet spoken
Trump failed in another trial in Washington on the grounds of immunity. There, an appeals court ruled that civil lawsuits against the 77-year-old over the storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021 can proceed. Trump's supporters had stormed the seat of parliament in Washington at the time. Congress had convened there to formally confirm the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters during a speech. Five people died as a result of the riots.
Some members of the Capitol Police and Democratic members of Congress then sued for damages. Trump had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits, again arguing on the basis of presidential immunity. The court has now rejected this motion - but did not rule on the admissibility of the claims. "The question of immunity depends on whether President Trump made the January 6 speech in an official or private capacity," the ruling states. "Today, we do not definitively resolve that question." The last word is unlikely to have been spoken here.
Hearing in Georgia
Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers have defended the former US president for the first time at a hearing in the course of the charges of election interference in the state of Georgia. Trump himself was not present at the hearing on Friday in Atlanta.
Trump's lawyer Steve Sadow called a possible trial during next year's election campaign "election interference" and called for the charges to be dropped. The public prosecutor rejected the allegations. Trump wants to move back into the White House after next year's election. One of the issues at the hearing was the date for the start of the actual trial.
In Georgia, Trump was charged along with 18 other defendants for his attempts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state. Some of Trump's former associates have entered into an agreement with the public prosecutor's office in the proceedings and have pleaded guilty.
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Source: www.stern.de
