Donald Trump is now open to civil lawsuits over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot after missing a deadline to appeal a lower court ruling to the US Supreme Court.
The former president, 77, had until Feb. 15 to ask the nine justices to rule on whether he should be immune from civil cases blaming him for the violence — but no appeal was filed.
The lack of a filing was first reported by NBC News.
Donald Trump didn’t appeal to the US Supreme Court by a deadline set on the issue of his immunity from civil cases. REUTERSTrump attorneys and the embattled real estate tycoon presumably had bigger fish to fry last week as the 45th president received two legal blows in separate cases.
On Thursday, Trump found out he would face a criminal trial starting on March 25 in a Manhattan “hush money” case. Then on Friday, he was hit with a $355 million civil penalty for business fraud.
In December, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the 45th president’s bid to toss out three civil cases filed by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers. But the three-judge panel noted it took “no view on the ultimate merits of the claims,” seemingly leaving the door open for an appeal.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement at the time that Trump “will continue to fight for presidential immunity all across the spectrum.”
The former commander-in-chief has claimed presidential immunity in both the civil and criminal cases he faces.
Trump had until Feb. 15 to bring his civil presidential immunity argument to the high court. REUTERSThe DC federal case charging him with unlawfully trying to overthrow the 2020 presidential election result is currently in limbo while the Supreme Court decides on whether Trump has immunity in that case.
Trump’s lawyers have argued he’s shielded from any liability for acts he took while he was in office — an argument that has been rejected by lower courts to date.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is one of the Democrats who claims Trump incited violence at the Capitol “and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun.”
Trump has been sued in three cases by Capitol Police officers and by Democratic lawmakers who accuse him of inciting the insurrection. James KeivomA group of other House Democrats, as well as Capitol Police officers James Blasingame and Sidney Hemby, have also brought lawsuits against Trump for his alleged involvement in the riot.
The officers have claimed Trump’s actions — allegedly scheming to use violence and intimidation to stop lawmakers from tallying the election result in favor of Joe Biden — were “far beyond the ‘outer perimeter’ of his office.”
Cheung didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment Monday.
