WASHINGTON — Donald Trump urged a federal appeals court to disregard the Justice Department’s decision to reject his claim of absolute immunity against civil lawsuits seeking to hold the former president responsible for the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack.
In a brief filed Thursday, Trump’s lawyers wrote that the government’s position — that immunity couldn’t apply at this stage because he’s accused of inciting violence — was “irreconcilable” with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and would open the door to future claims against sitting presidents.
The immunity carve-out that the Justice Department had proposed for presidential speech “has no underlying principle or explanation beyond ‘we think what President Trump did was bad,’” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “This is not how the rule of law works.”
