A Pennsylvania state judge ruled Monday that President Trump is protected by presidential immunity for statements he made in office doubting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos said Trump’s immunity covered a tweet he issued and comments he made remotely from the White House during a Pennsylvania state Senate committee hearing in November 2020,” The Hill reports.
Judge rules Trump protected by presidential immunity for claims doubting election while in office | Just The News https://t.co/MBqSbkhwBs
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) August 1, 2023
The Hill reports:
James Savage, a Pennsylvania voting machine supervisor in the 2020 election, filed two lawsuits — which have since been consolidated — alleging that Trump, Rudy Giuliani, two poll watchers and others conspired to defame him. Savage says their statements led him to receive death threats and suffer two heart attacks.
Erdos ruled Trump has immunity for the tweet and the remarks at the state Senate hearing because both statements were made while he was serving as president. But the lawsuit also contains claims over a letter Trump wrote to the House Jan. 6 committee last October, which Trump is not immune from as it was written after leaving office.
Erdos ruled the two earlier statements were part of Trump’s official duties, as he was speaking to the public on matters of public concern.
NEW: Judge Rules Trump Protected by Presidential Immunity for 2020 Election Claims Made While in Office https://t.co/3Vqycqyd4V
— RedState (@RedState) August 1, 2023
Just the News added:
Trump is not totally in the clear. Erdos ruled that Savage’s third defamation claim, related to remarks after Trump left the White House, is not protected by immunity, so the case survived Trump’s motion to dismiss, according to Bloomberg.
“Today, the Court made it clear that it is well within the President’s discretion to address the integrity of our election without fear of liability,” Trump legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said. “We expect that the rest of Mr. Savage’s claims will similarly be disposed of as they are without merit.”
Regardless, the ruling is a win for Trump, who has argued that he should be protected by presidential immunity in everything from Jan. 6 lawsuits to a defamation case brought by author E. Jean Carroll.
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