Status: 02.12.2023, 10:59 a.m.
By: Stefan Krieger
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Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the results of the presidential election are occupying the U.S. judiciary in several places.
Atlanta/Washington – A U.S. appeals court has admitted civil lawsuits against former President Donald Trump over the violent storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Friday rejected Trump's argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity because of his presidency at the time.
"A president does not spend every minute of every day performing official duties," the court order said. "And if he acts outside the duties of his office, then he does not enjoy immunity from damages just because he is the president." Trump could appeal the court decision.
Donald Trump wants to become president of the United States again. © IMAGO/Thomas P. Costello
Several proceedings are underway against the former US president – on Friday (1 December, local time) he suffered two defeats. The judge in charge of his federal trial in connection with attempted election fraud rejected Trump's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in the US capital Washington. The Republican had justified this with the immunity of the office of president. "The defendant's four-year service as commander-in-chief did not confer on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal responsibility that applies to his fellow citizens," the judge wrote in the verdict. The trial is scheduled to begin early next year.
Defeat for Trump also in Washington
With the argument of immunity, Trump failed in another trial in Washington. There, an appeals court ruled that civil lawsuits against the 77-year-old for the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, can continue. Supporters of Trump had stormed the seat of parliament in Washington at the time. Congress had met there to formally confirm the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech. As a result of the riots, five people were killed.
Some members of the Capitol Police and Democratic members of Congress sued for damages. Trump had filed the dismissal of the lawsuits, arguing with the immunity of the president's office here as well. The court has now rejected this application – but did not rule on the substantive admissibility of the claims. "The question of immunity depends on whether President Trump delivered the Jan. 6 speech in an official or private capacity," the ruling said. "Today, we are not definitively clarifying this question." The last word should not have been spoken here.
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Indictment in Georgia: Dismissal Requested
Trump's lawyers recently defended the former US president in a hearing related to the charge of election rigging in Georgia. This happened for the first time. The hearing took place last Friday in Atlanta, but without Trump's presence. Steve Sadow, Trump's lawyer, described a possible trial during the campaign to nominate the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 US elections as "election manipulation". He demanded that the charges be dropped. The prosecution rejected this request. Trump plans to return to the White House after next year's election. An important point of the hearing was the setting of the date for the start of the main proceedings.
In Georgia, Trump, along with 18 other defendants, was indicted for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. Some of Trump's former allies have reached an agreement with prosecutors as part of the trial. They have pleaded guilty. (SKR/DPA/AFP)