Civil suits against Donald Trump will seek damages for Capitol riot, report claims

“Members of Congress, police officers and government watchdog groups argued in federal court on Monday that Donald Trump was liable for major financial damages for his role in inspiring the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, pressing an array of civil suits against the former president amid mounting frustration that he has faced no penalty for the riot,” the New York Times reports.

“Over nearly five hours in the United States District Court for Washington, lawyers laid out their cases against Mr. Trump, contending that he deserved to be held responsible for inflaming a violent mob, despite what are typically wide immunity protections for a president’s speech and actions while in office.”

Lawyers for Trump argued on Monday that he is entitled to broad immunity from civil lawsuits attempting to hold him accountable for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“We’re not on the outer perimeters here. We are dead center on immunity, because a president always has the authority to speak about whether or not any of the other branches frankly can or should take action,” Jesse Binnall, Trump’s attorney, told Mehta on Monday, adding that the president in his remarks was discussing congressional action — the tallying of Electoral College votes — which is “dead center” on the official duties of the president.

“Look at the type of act that was being conducted,” Binnall argued, “Speak[ing] to the American people … giving a speech is something that presidents do,” noting the words themselves are not at issue here, but the forum in which they were delivered.

Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California, two members of the Capitol Police and a group of House Democrats, led by Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, have each accused the former president of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.

The suit filed by Swalwell also named Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, Donald Trump Jr., and GOP Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama. The suit from the 11 House Democrats alleges Trump, Giuliani, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, conspired to incite a crowd of his supporters to breach the Capitol to stop Congress from counting states’ electoral votes and reaffirming President Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta heard oral arguments lasting roughly five hours to consider whether to grant the request from the former president to dismiss the civil cases or allow them to proceed.