Lawyers for President Trump asked a federal judge on Friday to rule that Trump has presidential immunity from civil claims that he incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta did not issue a ruling in court after hearing arguments from Trump’s lawyers and lawyers for Democratic lawmakers who sued the Republican president and his allies over the January 6, 2021, attack.
President Trump addressed a crowd of supporters at a “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House before a mob attack disrupted a joint session of the House and Senate to certify Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Because he acted in an official capacity, his actions up until January 6th and on the day of the riot are protected by presidential immunity.
“The whole point of immunity is to give the president the ability to speak clearly in his moment as commander in chief,” Trump’s lawyer, Joshua Halpern, told the judge.
Mr. Trump cannot prove that he was acting in a fully official capacity, rather than as a private citizen seeking public office. And they argue that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that seeking public office is outside the scope of presidential privilege.
“The burden of proof here is on President Trump,” said Joseph Sellers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “We think he is far from meeting that burden.”
At the end of Friday’s hearing, Mehta said the arguments gave him “a lot to think about” and he would issue a ruling “as soon as possible.”
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has filed charges against President Trump, his personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups over the January 6 riot. Other Democrats have since joined the lawsuit.
The civil claims survived a sweeping act of clemency by Trump on the first day of his second term, pardoning and commuting sentences and ordering the dismissal of all 1,500 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol siege. More than 100 police officers were injured while defending the Capitol from rioters.
Halpern said immunity allows the president to act “boldly and fearlessly.”
“Immunity exists to protect presidential privilege,” he said.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers argue that the context and circumstances of the president’s words on January 6, not just the content, are key to establishing whether he can escape liability.
“We need to look at what happened before January 6,” Sellers said.
Kunzelman writes for The Associated Press.
