The U.S. Justice Department is moving to shield President Donald Trump against civil lawsuits filed by police officers and Democrat legislators seeking to hold him accountable for violence committed during the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
In court filings made late Thursday, Department lawyers asked U.S. district judge Amit Mehta that the U.S. Government replace Trump in certain claims as he “acted within the scope of [his] office or employment” both before and during the protest.
After Trump claimed widespread voter fraud, protesters attempted to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
The Department cited a Federal Law that requires that the U.S. Government is the defendant in cases where federal employees are sued for their official roles under state laws. The move by the department only applies to claims made under local Washington D.C. laws.
The Justice Department has changed its stance from the one it adopted during Biden’s presidency when prosecutors in a criminal trial against Trump – which was later dismissed – argued that many of Trump’s actions around the riot had nothing to do with his official duties.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has taken steps to exert control over the Justice Department. Its new senior officials are demanding that government lawyers adhere to his agenda.
In the wake of the attack, police officers and Democrat legislators filed eight civil suits against Trump. The lawsuits are now consolidated by Mehta and seek monetary damages. They claim that Trump directed and aided the assaults on the police due to the speech he gave shortly before the attack started.
Trump has denied all allegations against him and asked that the judge declare him immune, claiming he was acting in his official role as President.
The lawyers for several plaintiffs have not responded to our requests for comment.
Plaintiffs have asked Mehta not to grant Trump immunity. The judge has not yet ruled. A federal appeals court previously rejected Trump’s immunity claim in the lawsuits, but let him renew his argument if he brought forward evidence that he was acting in his role as president rather than as a political candidate.