WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump stands during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. The announcement comes a day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination. (Image: Getty)
A federal judge said that Donald Trump doesn’t have “absolute immunity” as the former president’s legal team claimed in response to a civil lawsuit over Trump’s role in the efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election.
In November 2020, the NAACP and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization sued Trump for disenfranchising black voters by acting to delay the certification of the election results and pressuring election officials in Michigan and other states.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the former president can’t be held liable in civil lawsuits because of immunity around the presidency.
On Monday, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the D.C. District Court disagreed. He said that the actions described by the civil rights group, if confirmed, are not related to the presidency’s duty in defense of the Constitution.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“If Former President Trump disrupted the certification of the electoral vote count, as Plaintiffs allege here, such actions would not constitute executive action in defense of the Constitution,” Sullivan wrote. “For these reasons, the Court concludes that Former President Trump is not immune from monetary damages in this suit.”
The decision means that the civil rights groups are allowed to proceed with the lawsuit. Sullivan has not yet ruled if Trump is liable for the charges made by the groups, even though he severely criticized the former president for his actions in the 2020 and in the 2022 elections.
“President Trump continues to spread false claims about the 2022 elections and continues to attempt to pressure officials into nullifying the election results,” Sullivan wrote.
President Donald Trump has pardoned the federal life sentence of Larry Hoover, one of Chicago’s…
The U.S. Justice Department recently opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew…
President Donald Trump threatened to cut off federal funding from California for allegedly violating his…
A week following the phone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin,…
Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world and a key financial supporter of President…
President Donald Trump escalated his ongoing feud with Harvard University, posting on Truth Social, "I…