The federal judge presiding over Donald Trump’s election subversion case in Washington, DC, has refused to dismiss the charges against the former president, saying he does not enjoy absolute immunity for what he said and did after the 2020 election.
“The court cannot conclude that our Constitution cloaks former Presidents with absolute immunity for any federal crimes they committed while in office,” US District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote.
This is an issue that likely must be settled by an appeals courts above Chutkan before Trump’s criminal trial, set for March.
Chutkan’s opinion – that came after an appeals court said earlier Friday that Trump could be sued in civil proceedings related to the January 6, 2021, riot – is a resounding blow on a significant question about presidential protections that Trump hoped to use as he tries to stave off criminal cases. It also means that unless an appeals court steps in, the judge sees no issue with Trump being tried in the coming year.
“Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass. Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office,” Chutkan wrote.
She added that Trump’s “four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.”
Trump’s lawyers had asked Chutkan to throw out the four charges he faced in Washington because they said Trump was working to “ensure election integrity” as part of his official capacity as president when he allegedly…
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