DOJ Paves Way for Civil Lawsuits Against Trump for January 6th

In the weeks following the Capitol riots of January 6th, 2021, the mainstream media and their liberal surrogates in Washington DC were foaming at the mouth, hoping to find some way to pin the entire mess on then-President Donald Trump.  They felt as though they finally had their silver bullet for the MAGA Movement.

And so there was an impeachment leveled against Trump for “inciting” the events of that fateful day.  His trial in the Senate was swift and decisive, however, and Trump was acquitted rather effortlessly.

Then came the January 6th select committee, who referred Trump to the DOJ on what they felt were 4 criminal issues.  In the months since that determination there have been precisely zero charges brought against Trump.

In the face of these defeats, the Democrats running out of ways to interfere with Trump 2024 reelection plans, and are now looking to turn loose an army of civil attorneys as a last ditch effort.

The Department of Justice said Thursday that former President Donald Trump can be sued by police officers over the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Attorneys for the Justice Department’s civil division made it clear in a court filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that Trump does not have absolute immunity from multiple civil lawsuits, filed by police officers and members of Congress, which seek to hold him liable for damages stemming from the Jan. 6 riot.

“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,” the brief said. “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.”

It isn’t hard to read between the lines here.

The brief carefully avoids taking a position on whether Trump is actually liable for causing the riot, civilly or criminally, but urges the appeals court to reject Trump’s immunity claim and return the cases to a lower court for further litigation.

“Such a narrow decision would leave for further proceedings in the district court (and, if necessary, a future appeal) any renewed assertion of absolute immunity more narrowly focused on whether the former president’s speech actually constituted incitement,” the Justice Department lawyers wrote.

The move could spur an onslaught of suits against Trump, frivolous or otherwise, that could command resources that the former President would rather employ out on the campaign trail, especially now that he’s got at least one bonafide, official and announced opponent in the race.