An advertisement soliciting donations for former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen as it was introduced as evidence and displayed during the second public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, at Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S. June 13, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump does not have immunity from civil lawsuits related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, a federal appeals court panel unanimously ruled Friday.
The ruling does not say that Trump is liable for the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters that injured more than 100 police officers. Several of them have sued Trump for allegedly inciting the riot.
But it raises the prospect that Trump could ultimately have to pay significant damages and legal fees from these suits, as he battles multiple other lawsuits stemming from the insurrection.
The ruling came after Trump challenged the federal district court lawsuits filed against him by police officers and several members of Congress.
“In arguing that he is entitled to official-act immunity in the cases before us, President Trump does not dispute that he engaged in his alleged actions up to and on January 6 in his capacity as a candidate,” Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote in the opinion for the three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“”But he thinks that does not matter,” Srinivasan wrote. “
“Rather, in his view, a President’s speech on matters of public concern is invariably an official function, and he was engaged in that function when he spoke at the January 6 rally and in the leadup to that day. We cannot accept that rationale.”
Trump is already facing four pending criminal cases, two of which relate to his effort to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The Jan. 6 riot disrupted for hours the confirmation of Biden’s victory by a joint session of Congress.
In New York, Trump is the target of a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general, who is seeking $250 million in damages for alleged business fraud.
Trump earlier this year was ordered by a federal civil jury to pay $5 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for sexually abusing her and defaming her. He faces a second trial for another, related lawsuit by Carroll, in early 2024.
Trump at the same time is the clear front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
