A panel of judges has ruled that a lawsuit filed by Capitol Police officers against President Donald Trump can proceed.
The three judges behind the ruling were appointed by current and former Democrat Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton.
The news comes as Trump recently caught several much-needed legal breaks in some pending cases.
However, he’ll now soon face another civil case.
According to CBS News, Trump will now face a lawsuit brought against him by a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers regarding his alleged actions on Jan. 6, 2021, leading up to and during the protest in Washington D.C.
On Friday, a group of judges in a federal appeals court ruled that the lawsuit could move forward.
The three-judge panel comprised of Obama-appointed Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Biden-appointed Judge Bradley Garcia, and Clinton-appointed Judge Judith Rogers.
The judges shot down Trump’s immunity defense, similar to a decision brought against him by two Capitol Police officers and a group of House Democrats.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit based its decision on a D.C. Circuit’s decision earlier in December that ruled Trump wasn’t immune from the case.
“‘Whether [President Trump’s] actions involved speech on matters of public concern bears no inherent connection to the essential distinction between official and unofficial acts,'” the judges wrote in their decision Friday.
The judges decided the case was “indistinguishable” from the other similar case brought against him.
Trump’s fight for immunity was shot down as the court decided his actions that day were not part of his presidential duties, despite whether or not he was partially responsible for the riot.
“When a first-term president opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act,” Chief Judge Srinivasan wrote.
He added, “The Office of the Presidency as an institution is agnostic about who will occupy it next.
“And campaigning to gain that office is not an official act of the office.”
The group of Capitol Police officers suing Trump also name multiple additional defendants.
The additional defendants include members of Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers.
Roger Stone was also named.
CBS News noted:
The case was brought in August 2021 by seven Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol complex on Jan. 6 and were assaulted and harassed during the riot, which they said was the result of “unlawful actions” by Trump and his allies.
The group of officers reportedly seek “civil damages for the physical and emotional injuries” they claimed to have suffered during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
However, according to Brandon Straka, one officer, Byron Evans, admitted on CNN that he was not actually at the Capitol when the Jan 6 “riot” happened.
Straka, a social media influencer who founded the “Walk Away” campaign to encourage people to leave the Democratic Party, is also being sued by the group.
In the interview, the CNN reporter described Evans’ experience of watching the protest on television from a secure location for hours.
“I just remember the anger I felt when I saw those images,” Evans admitted.
“Busting windows, climbing the walls, and stuff like that.
“It was an audible gasp in the room”
Straka said in a post on X that they sued him, “alleging that I am a racist and a white supremacist and that I bore responsibility for their injuries.”
(Thread) This is Capitol Police Officer Byron Evans.
Officer Evans sued me under the KKK Act alleging that I violated his civil rights and that I conspired with white supremacists to commit assault and battery against him on January 6th. (follow this thread to see how Officer… pic.twitter.com/fLGCgULvHi
— Brandon Straka (@BrandonStraka) December 27, 2023
Only time will tell if this case is another thorn in the side of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
