Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected this Friday in a resolution former President Donald Trump’s request that the electoral case for which he is charged in Washington be archived, alleging that he enjoyed absolute immunity due to his status as president because the accusation was based on actions he carried out while he was in office. Trump is charged in this case with four crimes for his electoral interference to try to steal the 2020 elections, which he lost against Joe Biden.
The dismissal of that petition came as no surprise, but Trump’s lawyers can now appeal to the appeals court and, ultimately, the Supreme Court. That would allow Trump, at a minimum, to delay the process, so that the trial does not begin in early March, as planned. With his delaying strategy, he may even delay it until after the November presidential election. If Trump won those elections he could maneuver to get the Justice Department to drop the charges against him.
The motion filed this October before the Washington court, 52 pages, He began by pointing out that the president of the United States is the core of the Government system, the leader of the nation, the head of State and the head of Government. “To ensure that the president can exercise his office without hesitation, without fear of his political opponents for decisions they do not like, the law establishes absolute immunity “for acts within the ‘outer perimeter’ of official responsibility [del presidente]”, he alleged, citing several precedents from the Supreme Court, which could eventually be called upon to decide in this case as well.
“Breaking 234 years of precedent, the sitting Administration has impeached President Trump for acts that lie not just at the ‘outer perimeter,’ but at the core of his official responsibilities as president. In doing so, the prosecution does not, and cannot, argue that President Trump’s efforts to ensure and advocate for the integrity of the election were outside the scope of his duties,” the brief argued.
Judge Chutkan rejects the almost absolute immunity that Trump intended to cling to. In arguing her ruling, which extends over 48 pages, rejects the thesis of Trump’s absolute immunity. “The text, structure and history of the Constitution do not support that argument. No court, nor any other power of the State, has ever accepted it. And this court will not do it. Whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States only has one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifetime pass out of prison,” he says.
“Former presidents do not enjoy special conditions regarding their federal criminal responsibility,” says the text with the judge’s legal foundations. “The defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction and punishment for any criminal act committed while in office.”
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Chutkan also rejects Trump’s claims that the impeachment violates the former president’s free speech rights, as his defense argued. The judge indicates that “it is well established that the First Amendment [que consagra la libertad de expresión] “It does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime.”
“The defendant is not being prosecuted simply for making false statements, but rather for knowingly making false statements to promote a criminal conspiracy and obstruct the electoral process,” he maintains.
His ruling comes the same day that the federal appeals court in Washington has ruled in another case that lawsuits accusing Trump of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot can move forward.
The appeals court has rejected Trump’s arguments that presidential immunity exempts him from liability in lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers. But the three judges leave the door open for Trump to later claim and prove, as the cases progress, that his actions were taken in the exercise of his office as president.
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