A federal appeals court ruled again on Friday that U.S. Capitol Police officers can sue former President Donald Trump over the Capitol riot in 2021, the second time this month that the court has reached this determination, the Washington Examiner reported.
The court ruled against Trump, who attempted to argue that presidential immunity prevented him from being subject to criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits. The ruling concerns a lawsuit brought by Capitol Police officer Conrad P. Smith and follows a similar suit filed by two Capitol Police officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, which the court previously ruled to allow earlier this month.
"The salient question in Blassingame, we explained, was instead whether President Trump's alleged actions reasonably could be understood as official functions of the presidency, in which case official-act immunity would attach, or, alternatively, whether they reasonably could be understood only as re-election activity, in which case it would not," read the decision. "This case is indistinguishable from Blassingame in all relevant aspects."
Three judges sit on the panel that made the decision, one appointed by former President Barack Obama, one by former President Bill Clinton, and one by Trump himself.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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