US Appeals Court Clears the Way for Lawsuits Against Trump Over US Capitol Attack
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – An appeals court has ruled that civil lawsuits filed against the former president by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers can proceed, dismissing Former President Donald Trump’s claims of immunity against such legal actions.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, through a three-judge panel, dismissed Trump’s immunity claim, asserting that the former President was acting “in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate” when he encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6.
However, the panel clarified that its decision did not take a stance on the “ultimate merits of the claims” against the former president.
Nonetheless, the verdict paves the way for Trump to face lawsuits from police officers and U.S. democratic lawmakers aiming to hold him accountable for the violence allegedly perpetrated by his supporters during the riot.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the president’s statements pertained to “matters of public concern” and fall under the umbrella of absolute presidential immunity. They highlighted in legal documents that Trump was acquitted in the U.S. Senate of inciting the riot following a historic impeachment trial. The lawyers asserted that the lawsuits constitute the type of harassment that presidential immunity is intended to prevent.
Trump’s lawyers attempted to reverse a decision by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who concluded that Trump’s words during the rally preceding the riots on January 6 were likely “words of incitement not protected by the First Amendment.”
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