A federal judge in the United States has ruled in a civil case that former U.S. President Donald Trump is a criminal offense for attempting to overrule a January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress to confirm obstruction of the U.S. presidential election. had committed a crime. This would be a criminal offense under US law. This is reported unanimously by several US media.

“It was clear that this plan was illegal,” writes Judge David Carter of Trump’s attempts to discredit then-Vice President Mike Pence by not recognizing the election result and thereby declaring Trump’s rival Joe Biden as the winner.

Judge Carter’s testimony on the case relates to a decision he was required to make in a civil proceeding. They had to decide whether emails from John Eastman, Trump’s lawyer, could be submitted to the investigative committee that probed the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by supporters of Donald Trump.

The judge ordered the release of most of the emails – and wrote: “Every American – and of course the President of the United States – knows that leaders in a democracy are elected and not established. With such a brazen plan, the President Trump deliberately tried to undermine that fundamental principle. Based on the evidence, the court finds it more likely that President Trump did not make a corrupt attempt to disrupt a January 6 joint session of Congress.”

In his decision, the judge personally accused attorneys Eastman and Trump of launching a campaign to siphon off election results, “a unique event in American history.” Carter links the riots directly to Trump’s plan after he stormed the Capitol on January 6. NBC weighs in, according to broadcaster In the United States, the burden of proof to be provided in civil cases is less severe than in criminal law.

Only ten documents remain confidential

According to Carter, if Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transfer of power in the United States and undermined American democracy and the US Constitution. The country must hold those responsible, otherwise the court is of the view that there is a danger of recurrence of an incident like 6 January. Five people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack.

So far, neither Trump nor Eastman have faced criminal charges for storming Congress. Carter clarified that his case was only about the controversy surrounding the release of the email. “This is not a criminal trial.” Attorney Eastman wanted to block 111 documents from being released to Congress. The judge approved it only for ten. Trump himself was not a party to the civil case.

The events of January 6, 2021 triggered the second impeachment trial in Trump’s tenure. Ten votes were missing for his sentencing in the Senate. That means the Republican is still able to run again in the next presidential election in 2024 and run for a second term.