Joseph Anthony, FWD News
2:17 PM EST, March 2, 2023
(FWD) – Former president Donald Trump may be held legally responsible for the actions of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department’s statement on Thursday.
Along with 11 Democratic House members, two U.S. Capitol Police officers are suing Trump for the psychological and physical harm they sustained during the disturbance. Trump has claimed that the total immunity granted to a president acting in the course of his official duties shields him from the case.
Trump enticed thousands of supporters to Washington with untruths and instructed them to “fight like hell” to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, prompting a dispute in an appeals court in December about whether or not he was doing his duties. Uncertain, it requested a recommendation from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department twice requested another month to finish the response, which took many months to prepare.
But, the attorneys for the Department of Justice argue in today’s statement that
“It is not a rule of absolute immunity for the
president regardless of the nature of his acts.” “Presidents may at times use strong rhetoric. “And some who hear that rhetoric may overreact or even respond with violence.”
