Democratic lawmakers and Capitol Police officers should be able to pursue civil lawsuits against former President Donald Trump over actions he took leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the Justice Department told a federal appeals court Thursday.
In a brief requested by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Justice Department said Trump’s status as president doesn’t protect him from the consequences of all actions he took while in office.
Trump had relied on that protection in seeking to dismiss lawsuits over his speeches and tweets prior to the attack on the Capitol, the DOJ wrote, but that protection wouldn’t always apply, such as if a president incites “private violence” with his public speaking.
