A criminal to the end....

Judge allows lawsuits against Trump for January 6 to go forward but tosses cases against Giuliani and Trump Jr.

By Katelyn Polantz

Civil lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection can move forward in court, and the ex-President doesn't have absolute immunity from litigation, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Democratic members of the House and police officers who defended the US Capitol on January 6 sued Trump, claiming he prompted his supporters to attack. In a 112-page opinion Friday, Judge Amit Mehta wrote that the lawsuits could move to the evidence-gathering phase and toward a trial -- a major loss in court for Trump.

"To deny a President immunity from civil damages is no small step. The court well understands the gravity of its decision. But the alleged facts of this case are without precedent," Mehta wrote.

"After all, the President's actions here do not relate to his duties of faithfully executing the laws, conducting foreign affairs, commanding the armed forces, or managing the Executive Branch," Mehta added. "They entirely concern his efforts to remain in office for a second term. These are unofficial acts, so the separation-of-powers concerns that justify the President's broad immunity are not present here."

The decision was issued in a trio of lawsuits filed after the January 6 Capitol breach seeking to hold the former President and his allies accountable for the riot.

When the Senate failed to convict Trump last year in the impeachment proceedings examining his role in the attack, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who voted against convicting Trump -- noted that "civil litigation" was avenue through which Trump's conduct could be addressed.

Two of the lawsuits were brought by Democratic House members, while a third was filed by Capitol Police officers.

The lawmakers allege that they were threatened by Trump and others as part of a conspiracy to stop the congressional session that would certify the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, according to the complaints. They argue that Trump should bear responsibility for directing the assaults.

Partial victory for Trump allies

The cases will now move forward against Trump himself, but some of his allies who were named as co-defendants succeeded in getting the civil suit dismissed.

This includes his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former attorney Rudy Giuliani, who were named as defendants in some of the cases, but successfully argued that the lawsuit should be thrown out.

The judge indicated he would also eventually dismiss the case against Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, but he wasn't ready to do that on Friday due to technical reasons related to Brooks' defense strategy.

They have all denied wrongdoing related to January 6.

That being said, the cases will proceed against the far-right Oath Keepers organization and against Enrique Tarrio, the recently incarcerated leader of the Proud Boys. They also tried to get the case dismissed but the judge concluded that the allegations -- of a conspiracy between Trump and the extremist groups and leaders -- were plausible enough to allow the litigation to move forward.