The Justice Department said the court should reject Donald Trump’s evasive argument.
Washington:
Former US President Donald Trump could be prosecuted for the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters that left police and others injured, the Justice Department said in a court filing on Thursday.
In an official legal opinion submitted to federal court in Washington, the department said that although a president has absolute immunity for his official acts in office, he can be prosecuted for acts clearly committed outside his official duties. .
The opinion was submitted at the request of the court, which is hearing a lawsuit by two police officers and 11 lawmakers claiming injuries during the January 6 attack.
Trump, who was sued along with other prominent actors on charges of inciting the attack – which happened two weeks before he left the White House – claimed protection from prosecution by his absolute immunity.
Trump claimed immunity because his announcement before and during the attack was “speech on matters of public concern,” which is within his official duties, the Justice Department said, even if that speech was viewed as inciting violence. May go.
The Justice Department said the court should reject Trump’s evasive argument.
“As leader of the nation and head of state, the president has ‘extraordinary power to speak for and on behalf of his fellow citizens,'” the department said.
“But that traditional function is one of public communication and persuasion, not incitement to imminent private violence,” it said.
It noted that there is no blanket protection of presidential speech in running for office, suggesting that Trump’s support for the Jan. 6 crowd—which decried his loss in the presidential election two months earlier—was that may fall into the category.
The department said it was not commenting on the merits of the case – whether or not Trump incited the violence – but only indicated that doing so was not covered by his presidential immunity.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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