A 3-judge panel considering an appeal at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia affirmed that former President Donald Trump is not immune concerning civil damages claims against him “that arose out of actions he allegedly had taken related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.”
Trump, the Court said, “failed to demonstrate, at the motion-to-dismiss stage, that he was entitled to absolute presidential immunity from certain civil damages claims against him.”
Trump claimed immunity on the basis that his speech, alleged in certain claims to have instigated violence, was “invariably an official function” of his office. The court says: “We rejected that argument.”
JUST IN: The federal appeals court in DC has ruled again that Trump is not immune from a lawsuit brought by police officers related to his conduct on Jan. 6.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 29, 2023
Expect similar rulings in one or two other Jan. 6-related lawsuits: pic.twitter.com/3gkdKRl5IE
Addressing an issue that looms large in Trump’s claims of immunity in other cases against him, including those with criminal charges, the Court then referenced a critical point about whether essentially all presidential activity takes place within the “outer perimeter” of the president’s official responsibilities.
Citing the Supreme Court’s contention that “absolute presidential immunity… is an ‘official immunity,’ that extends no further than the outer perimeter of a President’s official responsibility,” the DC Court determined that a President “often” but not “always” acts officially when speaking “on matters of public concern.” Therefore some speech falls outside the outer perimeter.
