‘These Things Are Not Alike’: Prosecutors Hit Trump For Comparing Himself To Lincoln | EUROtoday

Federal prosecutors rejected former President Donald Trump’s claims that he loved “absolute immunity” from prosecution after he was indicted in Washington, D.C., over his efforts to stay in energy after dropping the 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s attorneys are searching for to have the 4 federal fees filed in opposition to him dismissed, claiming any act he took main as much as the Jan. 6, 2021, rebel on the Capitol must be thought-about a part of his presidential duties. The legal professionals moved to forged Trump’s statements to carry on to energy and successfully undertake a coup as an try and “ensure election integrity,” including a president should, at occasions, be capable of take “bold and unhesitating action” with out worry of prosecution.

Their 52-page submitting earlier this month in contrast Trump’s feedback earlier than the violent assault on the Capitol to these of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Federal prosecutors rejected these assertions in a submitting with the Federal District Court in Washington.

“The defendant is not above the law,” prosecutors wrote. “He is subject to the federal criminal laws like more than 330 million other Americans, including members of Congress, federal judges, and everyday citizens.”

“In staking his claim, he purports to draw a parallel between his fraudulent efforts to overturn the results of an election that he lost and the likes of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and George Washington’s Farewell Address,” the submitting continued. “These things are not alike.”

Trump has been indicted in 4 separate instances this 12 months and has vehemently rejected all fees in opposition to him. His trial in Washington, overseen by Judge Tanya Chutkan, is scheduled to start in March because the 2024 presidential race begins in earnest. Trump, who’s vying for the GOP nomination, may very nicely be pressured to marketing campaign similtaneously he sits in court docket for a lot of subsequent 12 months.

The Justice Department has typically held a coverage that sitting presidents can’t be indicted. But as The New York Times notes, Trump’s makes an attempt to say he’s immune from all prosecution for something he did whereas in workplace — even after he left the White House — can be an exceedingly broad interpretation of the justice system.

“No legal principle, case, or historical practice supports the conclusion that a former president is immune from criminal prosecution for conduct undertaken during his presidency,” prosecutors wrote Thursday.