The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge on Feb. 18, 2022, dealt Donald Trump a procedural loss in the civil lawsuits over the Jan. 6 attack, ruling that he could not use absolute immunity to wipe away several of the claims against him. The decision did not decide whether Trump is liable. It did something narrower and more consequential for now: it let parts of the case survive the first legal checkpoint.

Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling was not a blanket green light for every claim or every defendant. It was a motion-to-dismiss decision, which means the court was asking whether the lawsuits could proceed based on the allegations as pleaded. Mehta said some claims against Trump could move forward, while other claims and some other defendants were dismissed. That distinction matters. The order keeps the case alive, but only on the claims the judge found legally sufficient at this stage.

The lawsuits were brought by members of Congress and Capitol Police officers who say Trump’s actions and rhetoric helped set the stage for the violence at the Capitol. In the ruling, Mehta addressed Trump’s argument that his Jan. 6 remarks and surrounding conduct were protected by the presidency. He rejected the idea that those claims were untouchable simply because Trump was in office at the time. The opinion also treated the allegations about Trump’s election-fraud pressure campaign as part of the record plaintiffs want tested in discovery, not as a finding that those allegations are proven.

The practical effect is straightforward: Trump remains exposed to civil litigation over Jan. 6, at least on the surviving claims, and the plaintiffs can keep trying to build their case. The judge’s order leaves open questions about what Trump said, what he did, and whether those actions can support civil liability. It does not answer those questions yet. But it does make clear that Trump’s presidency is not enough, by itself, to end the lawsuit before evidence is gathered.