More lawsuits are barreling toward Trump over Jan. 6
Source: Yahoo! News/Politico
Sun, December 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM EST
Donald Trump isnt off the hook for Jan. 6 just yet. Though the criminal cases against him are all but dead, Trump is likely to be fighting eight civil lawsuits from members of Congress and injured police officers deep into his second term. They may be the last form of legal redress Trump faces for his role in spurring the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Those lawsuits have been steadily advancing for years, largely overshadowed by the explosive Jan. 6 committee and grand jury investigations.
But now that the criminal cases have imploded, theyve become a last stand of sorts for those seeking to hold Trump accountable for the chaos his supporters wrought that day. These cases, unlike the criminal case, will not be affected by the election, said Joseph Sellers, a lawyer representing 10 current and former Democratic House members suing Trump and members of two far-right groups involved in the riot, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Our clients suffered real injuries that entitle them to relief, but also I think are seeking some measure of accountability given President Trumps role in the Jan. 6 events and the events leading up to it.
Trumps election effectively scuttled special counsel Jack Smiths prosecution of Trump, but a unanimous Supreme Court ruling from more than two decades ago says civil litigation can proceed against a sitting president. The high court ruled that those cases dont need to end because of the potential to distract the chief executive. And a complicated appeals court ruling in 2023 allowed the Jan. 6 lawsuits to move forward despite Trumps claims of presidential immunity a decision that helped form the basis of the Supreme Courts subsequent ruling on Trumps immunity from criminal proceedings.
Trump is still waiting for a ruling on whether hes immune from the lawsuits because he was acting as president as he riled up the crowd at the ellipse that day, as hes argued. If hes held liable for inciting the violence at the Capitol, Trump could be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. This is something that should be brought to trial during the second administration of President Trump, Sellers added. Were not suggesting that the president be treated like any other defendant, but that should not stop the cases from proceeding to trial.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-may-dodged-criminal-cases-190000644.html
Autumn
(46,660 posts)orleans
(35,249 posts)crowd" on jan 6?
bucolic_frolic
(47,584 posts)lied his way back into office, now you hound him like a dog on a bone. Just keep the lawsuits going and keep reminding the public of what he did and what his agenda will do to them. Silence is not a solution. Give him no room to maneuver. He thrives when there is no push back.
CBHagman
(17,161 posts)Considering how Trump has abused the legal system for decades, it would be fitting if he couldn't escape these cases.
We're going to find out more about what he's guilty of anyway, and he has multiple forms of disgrace and punishment in his recent past. It's possible none of this will ever be over for him.
Mark.b2
(490 posts)and he should be impeached.
Its far from being clear that pardoning ones self is constitutional. WeAmericans and Congressshould lose our ever-lovin minds if he pardons himself. Self-pardons should be shutdown from ever being normalized.
sheshe2
(88,147 posts)No matter the outcome just hound him til he takes his last breath. No peace ever!
eppur_se_muova
(37,662 posts)The case was Paula Jones' lawsuit against Bill Clinton:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/520/681
Karma has teeth, and it could bite tsf in the ass -- with a little venom on the side for the Extreme Six ... unless they reverse established precedent yet again, something they all swore before Congress they were opposed to.