A federal judge just dealt Donald Trump a major blow by making one of his biggest fears come true. He was hit with a strong legal decision that says his speech on January 6th wasn’t protected because it wasn’t part of his official presidential duties. Instead, it was a political act, and that means he could be sued for it.
Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court ruled late Tuesday that Trump’s fiery speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 — the one that led a group of people to march toward the Capitol shouting “Hang Mike Pence” — doesn’t qualify for presidential immunity.
That’s because it wasn’t something he did as president. It was part of his campaign activities. The judge used evidence directly from Trump’s own campaign to reach this conclusion.
The rally wasn’t funded by public money.
The White House didn’t help promote it. No government agency was involved in planning it. Most of the people who organized the event were connected to Trump’s re-election campaign, not the White House. As the judge said clearly: Trump hasn’t shown he deserves immunity for speaking at the Ellipse.
The ruling also deals a blow to Trump’s infamous phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
In that call, Trump said, “I only need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. You know, we have that in spades already.” Judge Mehta was tough on this, saying these were the words of a candidate trying to get a state official to change the outcome of the election, not a president acting in his official role.
In other words, the person on the phone wasn’t the president.
That was a losing candidate trying to steal an election.
This ruling is important for more than just this case.
It sets clear boundaries around the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity — a decision that Trump’s legal team has tried to use as a way to avoid responsibility for his actions. Mehta’s ruling shows that immunity doesn’t cover everything, and that using the power of the presidency to overturn a democratic election isn’t considered a “core presidential act.”
Trump’s legal team responded with their usual style, calling the ruling a “meritless Democrat Hoax” and saying Trump was “acting on behalf of the American people.”
But Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the lawmakers who filed the lawsuit, had a better response: “Donald Trump thinks he can get away with murder.”
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