[New] House Democratic Leader Sues Donald Trump Over Capitol Storming, Jan. 6

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Former US President Donald Trump and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, are being charged with conspiring with far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for inciting the January 6 insurrection. The civil suit was filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House National Security Committee citing a post-Civil War law designed to combat violence and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan.

The lawsuit, filed in a personal capacity by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, is the first civil action filed against former President Trump. It is related to the attack on the United States Capitol and comes days after the Senate acquitted Trump in the second impeachment trial against him.

If the lawsuit proceeds, it would mean that the former president and others would be subject to disclosure of evidence and statements, which could expose details and evidence that were not disclosed during the Senate impeachment trial.

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New explicit video of the attack on the US Capitol 0:32
Thompson pointed to Trump's words and tweets from months before the insurrection, to accuse the former president and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, of mobilizing and preparing his supporters for an attack and preventing Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 elections. , January 6th.

 

The lawsuit cites a little-used federal statute, which was passed after the Civil War. This was aimed at combating the violence of the Ku Klux Klan; It allows civil actions against people who use "force, intimidation or threat" to prevent someone from fulfilling the duties of their office.

“As part of this unified plan to avoid the Electoral College vote recount,” the lawsuit says, “the defendants Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, through their leadership, acted in concert to spearhead the assault on the Capitol, while the The angry mob that the defendants, Trump and Giuliani, incited was descending on Capitol Hill. The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the Save America rally and the assault on the Capitol was no accident or coincidence. It was the anticipated and predictable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the counting of votes cast in the Electoral College.

Former President Trump and many Republicans argued that the impeachment was unconstitutional because he was no longer in office. As such, Thompson points to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's speech on Saturday, where the Kentucky Republican appeared to encourage litigation against Trump.

“We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, ”McConnell said after voting to acquit Trump. "And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable to either of them."

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Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, said the former president did not incite or work to incite the unrest on Capitol Hill.

"[Former] President Trump has been acquitted in the Democrats' latest impeachment witch hunt, and the facts are irrefutable," Miller said in a statement. “[Former] President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the January 6 demonstration at the Ellipse. President Trump did not incite, nor conspire, to incite violence on Capitol Hill on January 6. "

Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been briefed on the lawsuit, a source told CNN.

"Trump's words fueled unrest"
Thompson's lawsuit links Trump's repeated refusal to accept the election results in the weeks following November 3 to threats of violence against elected officials such as Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, accusing Trump of endorsing the elections. threats rather than reporting them. The lawsuit also alleges that Trump's refusal to directly convict the Proud Boys during the first presidential debate in September encouraged his violent plans leading up to January 6.

The lawsuit links the hours-long standoff on Capitol Hill directly to Trump's rally earlier that day where the then-president told his followers, "... if you don't fight like hell, you won't have a country anymore."