A federal decide in Washington, D.C. denied former President Trump’s declare of presidential immunity on Friday and dominated towards his request to drop the Jan. 6 case.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia, responding to Trump’s declare that the Constitution grants him “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the ‘outer perimeter’ of his official responsibility,” wrote that the previous president does not have a “lifelong ‘”get-out-of-jail-free’ cross.”
“Former Presidents get pleasure from no particular situations on their federal felony legal responsibility. Defendant could also be topic to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any felony acts undertaken whereas in workplace,” Chutkan wrote in her opinion.
Responding to Trump’s First Amendment argument, Chutkan wrote that the Constitution doesn’t protect speech that’s used “as an instrument of against the law.”
TRUMP IS NOT IMMUNE FROM CIVIL LAWSUITS RELATED TO JAN. 6, FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES
![Former President Donald Trump](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/11/1200/675/GettyImages-1802697965.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the crowd on the field during halftime in the Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Earlier on Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump isn’t immune from civil lawsuits stemming from the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Following the ruling, Trump Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung gave the following statement to Fox News Digital:
“Radical Democrats, underneath the route of Crooked Joe Biden, proceed to try to destroy bedrock constitutional rules and set harmful precedents that will cripple future presidential administrations and our nation as an entire, of their determined effort to intervene within the 2024 Presidential Election. The corrupt leftists will fail and President Trump will maintain preventing for America and Americans, together with by difficult these wrongful choices in larger courts,” Cheung said.
BIDEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS TRUMP CAN BE SUED BY POLICE, DEMOCRATS OVER JAN. 6 RIOT
A court sketch depicts former President Donald Trump’s legal representation appearing before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington D.C. on Friday, August 11, 2023. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)
Sri Srinivasan, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote in the court’s opinion that Trump isn’t entitled to immunity.
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Trendsetter Engineering Inc. on November 02, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Former President Trump’s visit to Houston marks his second stop in Texas since earlier this year. The visit comes as his sons Don Jr. and Eric testified at his civil fraud in New York trial today. Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after a judge ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“The district court docket largely rejected his declare of immunity, and President Trump now appeals. The sole situation earlier than us is whether or not President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions main as much as and on January 6 as alleged within the complaints,” Srinivasan wrote. “We reply no, at the least at this state of the proceedings.”
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.