The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on June 25, 2021, that Donald Trump is not automatically protected by presidential immunity in civil lawsuits filed by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6 attack. The filing came in ongoing cases in which the plaintiffs are seeking to keep their claims alive after Trump moved to dismiss them. It did not decide whether Trump is legally liable for what happened that day. ([justsecurity.org](https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Blassingame_20210624_Trump-MTD.pdf))

The government’s position was narrower than a ruling on the merits. Justice Department lawyers argued that the former president could not use an automatic immunity shield to end the suits at the threshold stage. In other words, the filing addressed whether the plaintiffs should be allowed to continue their cases, not whether Trump caused the violence, the injuries, or the disruption at the Capitol. The brief also pushed back on the broader view that a president’s conduct during office is beyond the reach of civil litigation in every circumstance. ([justsecurity.org](https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Blassingame_20210624_Trump-MTD.pdf))

The lawsuits were brought by people who say they were directly harmed by the riot, including officers who defended the Capitol and lawmakers who were inside the building during the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Their claims center on Trump’s words and conduct leading up to Jan. 6, but the Justice Department filing did not adopt those allegations as fact or say they were proven. The legal issue in the brief was whether presidential immunity barred the cases from moving forward, not whether Trump had already been shown responsible under the law. ([justsecurity.org](https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Blassingame_20210624_Trump-MTD.pdf))

The filing matters because it keeps the courthouse door open for plaintiffs who want discovery and a ruling on their claims. Trump can still argue that the lawsuits fail for other reasons, and the court still has to sort through the merits. But on the specific question of immunity, the Justice Department said the former president should not get blanket protection just because the conduct at issue happened while he was in office. ([justsecurity.org](https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Blassingame_20210624_Trump-MTD.pdf))

The underlying fight is part of a larger effort by Trump and his allies to escape legal and political fallout from Jan. 6. The Justice Department’s brief does not resolve that fight. It only says the cases should not be tossed out at the outset on the theory that Trump’s presidency alone bars civil claims tied to the attack. ([justsecurity.org](https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Blassingame_20210624_Trump-MTD.pdf))