Donald Trump argues immunity in fight with Truth Social co-founders
Lawyers for President Donald Trump argued to a Delaware judge that a suit against him by the co-founders of his Truth Social platform should be dismissed or put on hold because he has immunity from such litigation while in office.
Delaware Chancery Court Judge Lori Will heard arguments Thursday in the case brought last year by Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, two ex-contestants on The Apprentice who partnered with Trump to launch Truth Social but say he later tried to unfairly dilute their 8.6% stake in the company and cut them out of its initial public offering.
Though the US Supreme Court last year said presidents have presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution over officials acts, it has also previously ruled that sitting presidents are not shielded from civil suits in federal court over acts that predate their time in office. Trump has frequently argued, though, that he is immune from lawsuits in state courts.
'Delaware should not open the door' to allowing Trump's political opponents to ensnare him in state-court suits, John Reed, one of Trump's lawyers, told Will at the hearing. He noted Trump has been personally named as a defendant in 14 suits during the first five months of his term.
Litinsky and Moss were present in the Wilmington, Delaware, courtroom to hear arguments in their case. Lawyers for the pair have countered in filings that the Supreme Court never concluded presidents must be shielded from civil suits while in office and called Trump's assertion of immunity a bid to 'obfuscate and delay' the case. They also noted that Trump is currently countersuing Litinsky and Moss in Florida.
'Trump is actively litigating claims as a plaintiff in state and federal court without raising presidential immunity,' the lawyers said. 'He should not be permitted to use this (non-existent) immunity as both a sword and a shield.'
Though judges were largely skeptical of Trump's claims of civil immunity during his first term, they frequently deferred to his busy schedule as president in delaying cases against him.
Litinsky and Moss' suit also names as defendants Truth Social directors Donald Trump Jr., FBI Director Kash Patel and ex-Congressman Devin Nunes.
Litinsky and Moss sold about 11 million shares in Truth Social last year — worth around $150 million at the time — after a lock-up on the stock expired. They claim in the suit that they deserve more for shepherding the platform's going public. Trump vowed not to sell any of his 60% stake in the platform, which lost billions in value after it went public, but shot up after his election.
The Delaware case is United Atlantic Ventures v. Trump Media, 2024-0184, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).
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