Former US President Trump does not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution

On December 2, Tanya Chutkan, a judge in the District of Columbia (DC) District Court in charge of the criminal investigation into former US President Donald Trump's attempt to deny the results of the November 2020 general election, declared that Mr. Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution as a former President.

“It is true that the sitting president enjoys immunity, but the United States has only one president at any given time,” Ms. Chutkan said. “Just because Mr. Trump has served as president does not mean he has a permanent right to… avoid the criminal responsibility that every American must fulfill.”

Former US President Donald Trump at court in Manhattan, New York on November 6, 2023.

This is the first time a former US president has faced criminal charges, and Ms. Chutkan also becomes the first federal judge to question the criminal immunity of former presidents.

In his statements so far, Mr. Trump has argued that he cannot be criminally prosecuted because he was acquitted in the impeachment trial in the US Senate and because he has the same criminal immunity that the former president enjoys in civil lawsuits under the Constitution.

Before the Supreme Court's ruling on December 2, the above argument of Mr. Trump's side was considered the main obstacle to holding a trial of Mr. Trump (scheduled for March 2024) on the charge of "overturning the election results".

Just hours earlier, the Washington DC Court of Appeals ruled that former President Trump can be sued by the Capitol Police for injuries they suffered during the January 6, 2021 riot at Capitol Hill.

The Washington DC Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that Mr Trump can still be granted immunity from trial in a civil lawsuit related to his “official duties” as president.

However, Court of Appeals Chief Justice Sri Srinivasan said the judges agreed that “Mr. Trump’s efforts to win re-election in the November 2020 election were not within the scope of his official duties as president of the United States.”

In considering civil lawsuits involving Mr. Trump, an important basis for the Washington DC Court of Appeals to take into account is the US Supreme Court’s 40-year-old conclusion that US presidents cannot be sued even for actions that have “very limited connection” with their official duties.

The appeals court prosecutors had to answer the question: Did Mr. Trump’s actions after the 2020 general election really have a “limited connection ” to the job of president?

“We conclude that it does not, at least at this stage of the investigation,” the Court said. “When a sitting president seeks a second term, the president’s re-election campaign is not within the scope of his official presidential duties.”

Thus, former President Trump will not be exempted from both criminal and civil liability related to his actions to keep the presidential "seat" after the 2020 US general election.

The ruling by the Washington, DC Circuit Courts of Appeals and Circuit Courts has paved the way for a legal battle over presidential power that could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Most likely, the two above-mentioned rulings will be appealed immediately by Mr. Trump's team of legal experts.

Former President Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the rulings “set dangerous precedents that could cripple future U.S. administrations,” and asserted that “Mr. Trump will continue to fight for America and the American people, including by challenging these wrongful rulings in higher courts.”

(Source: vietnamplus)

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