Judge gives Trump, lawmakers and police in Jan. 6 lawsuit months of breathing room for 'immunity-related discovery'

Source: Apr 30th, 2024, 10:51 am

A federal judge gave Donald Trump until September to complete discovery specific to immunity issues he wishes to raise in a long-standing civil legal battle involving police who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and a number of current and former lawmakers who say they were forced to flee the 2020 electoral certification because of the mob Trump raised.

The order from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sets a deadline of Sept. 11 — and without any extensions to be granted absent a “concrete showing of good cause,” it states — for both parties to complete this stage of discovery.

This consolidated series of lawsuits stems from a complaint made by lawmaker plaintiffs Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the former chairman of the now-defunct House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as lead plaintiff Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and nine other current or former House members. In addition to Trump, the Lee-led plaintiffs have named the since-dissolved Proud Boys organization and its imprisoned leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, as the former president’s co-defendant.

The plaintiffs say Trump’s use of intimidation was not part of his official role as president and that this conduct impeded them from discharging their duties. They have been in a protracted battle just to get their lawsuit rolling: Mehta only weeks ago denied Trump’s request for an “indefinite ” stay of discovery. This case started in 2021. Mehta’s ruling this week now means that the parties won’t have to present discovery on the immunity issues until a little under two months before the general election.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/judge-gives-trump-lawmakers-and-police-in-jan-6-lawsuit-months-of-breathing-room-for-immunity-related-discovery/