Those hoping to see Donald Trump held criminally liable for his post-defeat efforts in 2020 have reason to be disappointed: Left with few choices, special counsel Jack Smith and his team have grudgingly agreed to wrap up their compelling, backed-by-voluminous-evidence felony cases against the president-elect.
That said, there’s still another avenue that isn’t yet closed. Politico reported:
Donald Trump isn’t off the hook for Jan. 6 just yet. Though the criminal cases against him are all but dead, Trump is likely to be fighting eight civil lawsuits — from members of Congress and injured police officers — deep into his second term. They may be the last form of legal redress Trump faces for his role in spurring the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Given the extensive focus on the criminal charges that the president-elect has faced, it’s easy to forget about the civil litigation related to Jan. 6 that he’s faced — and continues to face.
For those who might benefit from a refresher, in the aftermath of the insurrectionist violence, among those who filed lawsuits against Trump were police officers injured during the insurrectionist violence. In fact, multiple cases were filed:
- In March 2021, two Capitol Police officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, sued Trump, claiming he was liable for the injuries they suffered during the riot.
- In August 2021, seven more police officers who were attacked and beaten during the Capitol riot sued the former president.
- In January 2022, three more police officers — including two who aided the evacuation of lawmakers — sued Trump, seeking damages for their physical and emotional injuries.
- In January 2023, the longtime partner of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the Jan. 6 riot, filed a wrongful death civil suit against Trump.
The New York Times reported the suits “have all been consolidated for the moment in front of Judge Amit P. Mehta, who has handled several criminal cases related to the riot.” The plaintiffs have accused the incoming Republican president of “conspiracy to violate civil rights, incitement to riot, battery, assault, disorderly conduct and infliction of emotional distress, among other things.”
To be sure, even if Trump were to lose the civil suits, there would be no criminal consequences, but they could prove to be politically embarrassing and financially costly. Indeed, let’s not forget that he’s suffered several major legal setbacks and defeats in recent years — the E. Jean Carroll case, the Trump Organization’s fraud case, the demise of his fraudulent charity, the demise of his fraudulent “university,” et al. — and those were all civil cases. What’s more, while the Justice Department has a policy prohibiting federal criminal charges against a sitting president, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that sitting presidents can face civil suits while in office, and claims from Trump’s lawyers that he’s immune in these cases have already been rejected by two courts. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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