(FeaturedNews.com) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has refused to back former President Trump’s claim that he ought to be immune from civil suits relating to his position on Jan. 6, 2021.
The consolidated cases relate to a number of legal challenges made by Congress members who were forced to try and find a secure way of leaving the Capitol during the Capitol attack, as well as Capitol Police officers who accuse Trump of conspiring to stop them from carrying out their duties. The suits would also hold Trump liable for physical and psychological injuries.
The Department of Justice’s decision came after Trump tried to appeal the ruling of a lower court that determined that he is not immune from the civil suits as his attempts to “secure or perpetuate incumbency” were not a part of his presidential duties. As such he can be liable to face a civil suit regarding his actions.
In their own filing, the Department of Justice also notes that the president should not be given broad protection when it came to statements that could have potentially incited violence. They further add that while “a President is always immune from any civil suits based on his ‘speech on matters of public concern’” the claim that that should include cases of inciting private violence is incorrect and the court should reject that claim.
The matter has now been brought before the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In their decision, they write that “incitement of imminent private violence would not be within the outer perimeter of the Office of the President of the United States.”
Copyright 2023, FeaturedNews.com
