A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump is not entitled to absolute immunity against civil lawsuits that hold him responsible for the the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol.
The unanimous opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's three judge panel in late November allowed the cases against the former president to move forward, according to CBS News. This meant that a lawsuit brought by a group of congressional Democrats and veteran U.S. Capitol Police officers, who seek civil damages for the harms they alleged to have suffered because of the incident, can push through.
"The sole issue before us is whether President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaints," Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote. "We answer no, at least at this stage of the proceedings."
The ruling by Srinivasan and his co-judges noted that they cannot accept the rationale that a president's speech on matters of public concern is invariably an official function, and that "he was engaged in that function when he spoke at the Jan. 6 rally and in the leadup to that day."
While presidents are often exercising official responsibilities when they speak on matters of public concern, that is not always the case. Srinivasan said a president does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities. "When he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity from damages liability just because he happens to be the president," he further claimed.
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The appeals court noted that its analysis dealt with when a president could be immune against certain types of civil claims, not the issue of immunity against criminal prosecution. The court also rebuffed the "categorical rule" Trump's lawyers proposed that any time a sitting president spoke on matters of public concern, that qualified as an official act. "That is a sweeping proposition and one that ultimately sweeps too far," Srinivasan wrote.
Srinivasan's colleagues on the three-judge panel, Judge Greg Katsas and Senior Judge Judith Rogers, concurred with his opinion. Former President Barack Obama nominated Srinivasan, Trump nominated Katsas, and former President Bill Clinton nominated Rogers.
In response to the decision, Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement that the ruling was limited, narrow and procedural. "The facts fully show that on Jan. 6, President Trump was acting on behalf of the American people, carrying out his duties as president of the U.S.," Cheung said.
Trump's effort to subpoena J6 documents BLOCKED
A federal judge earlier rejected Trump's efforts to subpoena information from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who led the nine-member House J6 Select Committee, and several other government officials over what Trump's attorneys deemed "missing materials." An October filing from the former president repeated a disputed claim that the former House committee investigating the "riot" failed to turn over all the evidence it collected. (Related: BOMBSHELL: President Trump to present CLASSIFIED information of election interference at J6 indictment trial.)
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the federal case related to Trump's alleged actions to stay in power, said he failed to meet the legal bar for subpoenaing the officials. She wrote: "The broad scope of the records that defendant seeks, and his vague description of their potential relevance, resemble less 'a good faith effort to obtain identified evidence' than they do a general 'fishing expedition' that attempts to use the [Rule 17(c) subpoena] as a discovery device.'"
Trump also requested the cooperation of Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who has claimed that he did not receive the full records of the J6 committee. Similar requests from Trump were also sent to the National Archives, White House attorneys and the Department of Homeland Security.
"President Trump is fully entitled to seek the missing records by subpoena," Trump's legal team wrote. "It is also equally important to determine if these records have been lost, destroyed, or altered."
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