On Friday, a federal appeals court made a decisive ruling that President Trump is not immune from civil lawsuits connected to the events of January 6th.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department under President Joe Biden filed a court document at the DC US Court of Appeals affirming that police officers have the right to sue Donald Trump for his actions on January 6.
DOJ attorneys argued that Trump is not immune to civil lawsuits brought by police officers.
In a separate ruling earlier this year, US District Judge Amit Mehta, appointed by President Obama, dismissed Trump’s claim of immunity.
“Speaking to the public on matters of public concern is a traditional function of the presidency, and the outer perimeter of the president’s office includes a vast realm of such speech,” DOJ lawyers said in a brief in March.
“But that traditional function is one of public communication. It does not include incitement of imminent private violence of the sort the district court found that plaintiffs’ complaints have plausibly alleged here.”
The DC Court of Appeals has concluded that Trump does not have presidential immunity.
Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, recognized for his far-left views, stated in the written opinion that a president “does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities.”
As reported by CNN:
Former President Donald Trump isn’t immune from being held accountable in civil lawsuits related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot in a long-awaited, consequential decision from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.
The decision, making new law around the presidency, will have significant implications for several cases against Trump in the Washington, DC, federal court related to the 2020 election. The decision arises out of lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and Democrats in Congress.
The opinion, written by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, states that not everything a president does while in office is protected from liability.
The president “does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities,” the opinion said. “And when he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity. … When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.”
The decision to allow the January 6 lawsuits against Trump to proceed was unanimous among the three judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Greg Katsas concurred with the decision, and Judge Judith Rogers concurred in part.
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