WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump lost a bid Thursday to pause a series of lawsuits accusing him of inciting the attack on the Capitol, as the former president fights his criminal 2020 election interference case in Washington.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington has denied defense attorneys’ request to stay the civil cases holding Trump responsible for the January 6, 2021, riot, while the criminal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his election defeat was dismissed. suspended. President Joe Biden is set.
It is the latest legal setback for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, whose trial in a separate criminal case involving hush money payments during the 2016 campaign began this week with jury selection in New York.
The lawsuits filed by Democratic lawmakers and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 seek civil damages for damages they say they suffered during the attack, which sought to block Congress’ approval of Biden’s victory prevent.
Trump has claimed he cannot be charged over the riot that left dozens of police officers injured. He argued that his words at a rally before the storming of the Capitol related to “matters of public interest” and fell within the scope of absolute presidential immunity.
The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in December that the lawsuits can move forward, rejecting Trump’s sweeping claims that presidential immunity shields him from liability. However, the court said that as the cases progress, Trump may continue to fight to try to prove that his actions were taken in his official capacity as president.
In court papers filed last month, Trump’s lawyers told the judge that “fundamental fairness to criminal defendants” warrants staying the civil cases until the 2020 election criminal case is resolved. They argued that allowing the lawsuits could force Trump to “prematurely telegraph” his defense strategies in the criminal case.
Mehta, who was appointed to the court by former President Barack Obama, said the public has an interest in a speedy resolution of the civil lawsuits, in addition to the criminal case. And the judge said “appropriate safeguards” can be put in place to allow the lawsuits to proceed without infringing on Trump’s Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution in the election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The ruling will determine whether Trump will face trial in the case in which he is accused of a vast conspiracy to stay in power after Americans voted him out of office.
