WASHINGTON — Donald Trump can’t claim presidential immunity to avoid a lawsuit that accuses him of civil rights violations in his efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Trump had argued that he was “absolutely immune” from damages for actions within the “outer perimeter” of his official duties as president, and that his postelection activities in 2020 were part of an effort to protect and defend the Constitution.
But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington agreed with the challengers — the NAACP and Michigan voters and advocates — that Trump’s conduct was “purely political,” according to the ruling.
