Former President of the United States and Republican candidate, Donald Trumpdoes not enjoy immunity from civil lawsuits filed against him over the incidents of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in which at least seven people died.
The ruling sets a precedent for now. The expected ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington, responding to lawsuits from Capitol Police officers and Democrats in Congress, is likely to have an impact in the coming months.
The investigating judge of the case, Sri Srinivasan, argues in his letter that not everything a president does while in office is immune from liability. According to the judge’s legal opinion expressed in the ruling, the tenant of the White House “does not spend every minute of the day carrying out his official duties.” And if he acts outside the functions of his office, he no longer enjoys immunity (…) If he in If he acts in an unofficial and private capacity, he is, like any private citizen, exposed to civil lawsuits. A position that the judge fully shares Greg Katsas and partly by the magistrate Judith Rogers.
The court’s ruling draws a line between the campaign speech a president can make during re-election and the president’s official actions. Therefore, the lawsuits against Trump for his role in the attack on the Capitol will continue, and the three already filed by Capitol Police officers and members of Congress seeking physical and mental reparations for the consequences of the attack will continue.
The plaintiffs cite a more than century-old law that prohibits the use of force, threats or intimidation to prevent government officials from carrying out their duties, and provides recourse to anyone harmed by such actions to demand compensation.
In his opinion, the magnate is the first person responsible for violating a law passed at the time to combat the violence of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War by inciting his followers.
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team is invoking the doctrine of “absolute immunity” from harm caused by his actions while in office. The Republican candidate, who is the favorite to run in November 2024, will have the opportunity to challenge the facts and defend his lawyers’ doctrine with new arguments as the lawsuits progress before the lawsuits move into the extensive class phase on January 6th of the evidence.