U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Tuesday that Trump’s speech at the Elllipse on January 6, 2021, was political in nature and therefore not subject to the immunity SCOTUS found for official presidential acts.
The ruling is a serious setback for Trump as he has been facing civil litigation from police officers and lawmakers seeking his liability for his actions on that day.
Trump’s legal team had opted to take discovery bearing on immunity, and the parties engaged in such
discovery for nearly a year.
Mehta writes in a 79-page ruling:
“President Trump has not shown that the Speech reasonably can be understood as falling within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,” Mehta wrote. “The content of the Ellipse Speech confirms that it is not covered by official-acts immunity.”
This decision signals years of additional litigation and appeals, likely ensuring that Trump will be contending with the lawsuits for the remainder of his presidency.
Joseph Sellers, an attorney for Democratic lawmakers suing Trump, said he was pleased that Trump would not be able to avoid accountability for his actions on January 6.
“This decision, if it holds up, is going to pave the way to a trial in federal district court on these claims,” Sellers said. “We may have a trial in the spring or summer of 2028.”
Mehta, an Obama appointee, also said Trump would be able to try to press his immunity claims again at trial, even though the evidence to support his position was too weak to block a trial altogether.
Mehta also ruled that Trump’s “perfect phone call” to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger imploring him to find enough votes for him to win Georgia was political in nature.
“These are the words of an office-seeker imploring a state official to alter the outcome of Georgia’s election, not those of an incumbent President acting in his official capacity,” the judge wrote.