In a last-ditch effort, former President Donald Trump’s legal team filed a 41-page brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asserting “absolute immunity” and citing a controversial election fraud dossier. The filing aimed to support Trump’s claim of immunity against legal action related to his statements about the 2020 election.
The brief repeatedly referred to a 32-page report shared by Trump in a social media post that alleged widespread fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election, a claim that has been widely debunked. The report, which lacks an author and contains numerous false or unverified claims, was cited as evidence in the appeal.
The filing argued that the government’s statement of facts was incorrect and emphasized the ongoing disputes and questions about the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election. Trump’s lawyers asserted that the disputes were based on extensive information about alleged fraud and irregularities. They cited a social media post by Trump sharing the election fraud report as proof of the widespread concerns.
Additionally, Trump’s legal team argued that his public statements were not “knowingly false” and were part of his duty as Chief Executive to investigate reports of election fraud. They maintained that even if the statements were allegedly false, absolute immunity should apply.
The case involves legal challenges against Trump, and the appeals court is set to hear oral arguments on January 9. The filing comes after previous motions to dismiss, based on First Amendment and presidential immunity claims, were denied by Judge Tanya Chutkan. The Supreme Court is also expected to weigh in on the issue of presidential immunity.
THE GOVERNMENT’S BRIEF (AT 3) OMITS THE VIGOROUS DISPUTES AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACTUAL OUTCOME OF THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION—DISPUTES THAT DATE BACK TO NOVEMBER 2020, CONTINUE TO THIS DAY IN OUR NATION’S POLITICAL DISCOURSE, AND ARE BASED ON EXTENSIVE INFORMATION ABOUT WIDESPREAD FRAUD AND IRREGULARITIES IN THE 2020 ELECTION. SEE, E.G., DONALD J. TRUMP (@REALDONALDTRUMP), TRUTH SOCIAL (JAN. 2, 2024), HTTPS://TRUTHSOCIAL.COM/@REALDONALDTRUMP/POSTS/111687076142669367 (SHARING THE REPORT SUMMARY OF ELECTION FRAUD IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE SWING STATES, HTTPS://CDN.NUCLEUSFILES.COM/E0/E04E630C-63FF-4BDB-9652- E0BE3598B5D4/SUMMARY20OF20ELECTION20FRAUD20IN20THE20SWING20STATES.PDF); SEE ALSO ID. AT 4 (PUBLISHED ANALYSIS REPORTING THAT “INVESTIGATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE UNCOVERED AN AVALANCHE OF IRREGULARITIES, UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY, MANIPULATION OF ELECTION RECORDS, DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE, AND FRAUD” IN THE 2020 ELECTION).
NEXT, THE GOVERNMENT ARGUES THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS WERE SUPPOSEDLY “KNOWINGLY FALSE.” RESP.BR.51-52. THE GOVERNMENT’S EMPTY ASSERTION IS UTTERLY FALSE. PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS CARRYING OUT HIS DUTIES AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO INVESTIGATE THE OVERWHELMING REPORTS OF WIDESPREAD ELECTION FRAUD. SEE SUPRA, PART I (CITING SUMMARY OF ELECTION FRAUD). NEVERTHELESS, ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY WOULD APPLY EVEN IF THE CHALLENGED STATEMENTS WERE ALLEGEDLY FALSE AND “ACTUATED BY MALICE ON THE PART OF THE [SPEAKER],” WHICH THEY ARE NOT IN THIS CASE. BARR, 360 U.S. AT 568; ID. AT 569; SEE ALSO FITZGERALD, 457 U.S. AT 756; GREGOIRE, 177 F.2D AT 581
