A federal appeals court ruled Friday that former President Donald Trump should not, at this stage, be found immune from lawsuits about Jan. 6.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a president does not enjoy immunity from liability when acting “outside the functions of his office,” writing that he “is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.” Capitol police officers and members of Congress present on Jan. 6 sued Trump in 2021 for civil damages, alleging that his speech on that day and statements leading up to it “sparked the ensuing riot at the Capitol.”
“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, an Obama appointee, wrote in the court’s opinion. “We answer no, at least at this stage of the proceedings.”
Srinivasan noted that it is “not always the case” that Presidents are engaging in official responsibilities “when they speak on matters of public concern.” (RELATED: Federal Judge Tosses Trump 2024 Ballot Lawsuit In Rhode Island)
BREAKING: A federal appeals court has ruled that Donald Trump *can* be sued for inciting the Jan. 6 crowd. He is not “immune” because he was president, the circuit rules.
Details of the ruling to come soon. https://t.co/984JPuhpMS pic.twitter.com/FvZYgGwMxj
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 1, 2023
“When a sitting President running for re-election speaks in a campaign ad or in accepting his political party’s nomination at the party convention, he typically speaks on matters of public concern,” the opinion states. “Yet he does so in an unofficial, private capacity as office-seeker, not an official capacity as office-holder.”
The court stated that Trump will have a chance to show his actions were taken “in his official capacity” and “develop his own facts on the immunity question” in future proceedings at the district court level, noting that its opinion rests on taking “allegations in the plaintiffs’ complaints as true” because they are weighing a motion to dismiss.
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