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Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity in the Capitol storming case. The American Court of Appeal in Washington DC decided this on Friday, American media report. In concrete terms, this means that Trump can also be sued by individual citizens who want to hold him responsible for the violence committed by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
Source: BELGA
Yesterday at 5:32 PM
On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump stormed parliament in Washington because they disagreed with Joe Biden’s election victory. Five people were killed during the storm.
The decision will therefore have major consequences for several cases against Trump in federal court in Washington DC related to the 2020 election.
There is already a criminal case against Trump for his role in the events on that day, but now the court has cleared the way for civil cases. Police officers and parliamentarians, among others, are said to be planning to accuse him.
Trump had argued that he could not be charged because he was the president of the United States at the time and was therefore immune from prosecution. The court has now decided that he acted as a presidential candidate and not as president and that his immunity therefore lapses.
“The president does not exercise official responsibilities every minute of every day,” it said. “And when he acts outside the functions of his office, he no longer enjoys immunity. When acting in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil lawsuits like any other citizen.”