Federal Court Rules Trump Does NOT Have Immunity From January 6th Civil Lawsuits

Former President Donald Trump is not immune from civil lawsuits related to his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol to prevent the election certification of President Joe Biden, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday.

Trump, who is widely accused of fueling the violence on that day to stay in power, had argued that as president he should be immune from any litigation, but the court instead ruled Trump’s actions were taken “in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate.”

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz reported on this latest development and noted “The decision, making new law around the presidency, will have significant implications for several cases against Trump in the Washington, DC, federal court related to the 2020 election.”

Trump is currently facing several lawsuits from Capitol Hill police officers who were beaten by his supporters on January 6th and from Democratic members of the House who accuse Trump of endangering their safety on that day.

Polantz joined CNN to break the news and said this “is a major decision, a major evolution of what the law is. The other thing that this three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is writing is that they are saying that there are campaign actions and there are president actions, presidency actions.”

“And what it is that the president does while he is campaigning for reelection, including that rally on January 6th, that can be considered a campaign action. And that is something that you can move forward with lawsuits against,” she added, noting that Trump’s insistence for his supporters to go to the Capitol that day can now be litigated in court as incitement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.