Justice Department Refutes Trump Immunity Claim in Jan. 6 Civil Suits

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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to support former President Donald Trump’s claim that he should be immune from civil suits seeking to hold him responsible for his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters illegally entered the U.S. Capitol building as lawmakers certified the election for Joe Biden.

    The consolidated cases include legal challenges launched by 11 members of Congress who rushed for cover during the riot at the Capitol as well as Capitol Police officers. The cases allege Trump conspired to block lawmakers from carrying out their congressional duties. The suits also seek to hold Trump liable for physical and psychological injuries.

    According to reports from The Hill, the DOJ’s position comes as the former president has appealed a lower court ruling deeming he is not immune from the suits given that a president’s efforts to “secure or perpetuate incumbency” are not part of the White House role that otherwise prevents the president from facing civil suits for actions taken through the office.

    The government in its brief draws a clear line, arguing the broad protections for the president should not cover statements inciting violence. 

    “His briefs advance only a single, categorical argument: A President is always immune from any civil suits based on his ‘speech on matters of public concern’…even if that speech also constitutes incitement to imminent private violence. The United States respectfully submits that the Court should reject that categorical argument,” DOJ wrote in the filing.

    “In the United States’ view, such incitement of imminent private violence would not be within the outer perimeter of the Office of the President of the United States,” they write.

    The Justice Department’s brief doesn’t specifically back the claims from the lawmakers that Trump incited the riot, instead noting that they “plausibly allege” the former president’s speech that day motivated the attack.

    The district court that previously heard the suit also rejected Trump’s First Amendment defense.

    DOJ ultimately encourages the court to make a narrow ruling. The department briefly addressed its own investigation into Trump in a footnote dismissing any connection between outside civil suits and its own probe.

    “The United States does not express any view regarding the potential criminal liability of any person for the events of January 6, 2021, or acts connected with those events,” they write.

    9 COMMENTS

    1. By this standard, people who were harmed in the Black Lives Matter riots can sue Biden, Harris, and Pelosi. They were public officials and encouraged people to protest.

    2. I can only say is America is very fortunate Biden’s current DOJ never made it to the United States Supreme Court when Obama wanted to appoint him during the last days of his Presidency! This man has proven to be from a political standpoint, a very biased judge. I was always taught Judges were supposed to be Neutral and to therefore, be able to listen to both sides with no partially, in order to make a “FAIR” decision!
      No matter what one thinks of Senator McConnell, we can ALL THANK HIM, for stopping this biased thinker of a judge from being on the Supreme Court of our Country!

    3. Merrick (Himmler) Garland and his Gestapo will never be impartial. So don’t hold your breath waiting for that. The January 6th defendents versus Antifa and BLM and the different treatment they have recieved should make that more than obvious.
      The DOJ, FBI, ATF, DOH, and other assorted Gestapo units should all be gutted or disbanded all together.

    4. When will these Cabal Democrats learn that President Trump ALWAYS FOLLOWS THE LAW! We all know and have the video of the J-6th planned break in at the Capitol was planned and orchestrated by The FBI and other leftist players. We have all of the 49 FBI and Antifa on video and their faces and names. If I were them, I would lawyer up because prison is in their future ! Ray Epps will have a long stent behind bars. Also, the black Capitol police that killed Ashli Babbitt and the black female Capitol police that beat the older woman to death on the Capitol steps .

    5. Ha ha ha ha! The recently released video that the Democrats wanted hidden reveals an officer fired a tear gas grenade into the Trump supporters’ crowd and all they were doing was standing there. The video showing the police running away is edited. The full video shows that an officer is guilty of friendly fire at his fellow officers with tear gas! They were running from the result of incompetence. Only one officer was actually harmed that day and he later died from an unrelated cause. The officers who allegedly committed suicide were murdered. They felt guilty of the lies and most likely told others, including the murdering cop who assassinated Ashli Babbitt. Nancy Pelosi, Schumer and the Capitol Police are to blame, not President Trump! FJB! Let’s Go Brandon!

    6. Everyone knows President Trump asked Pelosi for National Guard troops to be there for crowd control. She was the person IN CHARGE OF making sure of police, etc. for the safety of the Capital. She TURNED DOWN President Trump. This was her big opportunity to finally “SET Trump UP”, once and for all! And she TOOK IT! she called in the FBI and the ANTFI MOB. They are the ones who moved into the crowd and started all the problems!!
      This was a true “SET-UP” of Trump! But made to look President Trump bad so the Democrats could finally “GET SOMETHING ON HIM” to be rid of him! They hate him so much it is unconscionable! He Actually DID very good job for this Country! He didn’t just collect a salary and TALK everything to death, or decide to to “A STUDY”, that is never ending and has no conclusion, like the others did!!
      HE actually helped everyone Black, Hispanic, Asian, and whites; by making people able to “PROSPER” again !!! The Dems hate him for it. Look
      at how the past Presidents all snubbed Trump and his very Classy wife Melania! Look how none of the magazines in this Country wouldn’t even do Magazine Cover shoots with Melania and how they snubbed her; when she was s high class model. But they put Michelle Obama on every cover imaginable!
      Didn’t anyone notice any of those things???
      But Queen Elizabeth certainly noticed how classy and poised Melania was! Melania was always a “Lady” in the finest sense of the word, and represented the United States extremely well. The media and the magazines in this Country treated her terrible and were just hateful! We as a Nation, were fortunate to have her represent us so very well. I was extremely sad, shocked, and ashamed at how badly she was treated. And, how BIASED all the magazines were to her! It was abominable and Truly UN-AMERICAN of them. How Rude they all were to her! And how they had just “fallen-all-over” Michell Obama as if she were the “Queen of Sheba” It was so blatant as to be sickeningly Phony!
      Other American Past presidents with the exception of Trump, were rude and crude and I am ashamed for them too! I have never seen such public rudeness by Americans! These people lack decent manners! It is utterly SHAMEFUL of them all. And they like to be known as “THE ELITES”! They are nothing but low class and crass individuals!
      I know BLUE COLLAR WORKERS with better manners!! And they would never shame themselves or their Country they way these Past presidents did to President Trump, and our First Lady in public!

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