DOJ Filing Against Trump Helps 'Pave the Way' to Indictment—Kirschner
NewsweekNov 25, 2022
The Facts
In reponse to the US Court of Appeal for the DC Circuit’s request for its opinion, the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed a brief urging the rejection of former Pres. Trump's claim to automatic immunity from lawsuits filed over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
In 1982, the US Supreme Court ruled presidents couldn’t be sued for acts they do in an official capacity. Trump has argued this protects him against suits related to the speech he made prior to the Capitol riot, but District Judge Amit Mehta disagreed in February 2022.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Leave it to Trump to stretch the limits of legal protection beyond its reach. There’s no doubt presidents enjoy a broad amount of immunity, and the DOJ has sided with him in other instances that he sought it. But inspiring violent insurrectionists to ransack the Capitol is a giant step too far. These civil suits deserve to move forward.
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump has immunity, and the case against that position is thin. The DOJ isn’t sure if Trump actually incited the violence, and the appeals court didn’t determine whether Trump was actually doing his job while speaking to the protesters — a key point of Trump’s defense. The statute they’re using to go after Trump was meant to stop intimidation from groups like the Ku Klux Klan, not a sitting president.
