US Justice Department moves to protect Trump from January 6 lawsuits

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department has moved to shield President Donald Trump from civil lawsuits by police and Democratic lawmakers seeking to hold him responsible for violence during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

In court filings late on Thursday, department lawyers told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to replace Trump as a defendant in the litigation and have the U.S. government take his place concerning certain claims because he was "acting within the scope of his office or employment" before and during the riot. 

His supporters attacked the Capitol in a failed bid to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over him after Trump made false claims of widespread voting fraud.

The department cited a federal law that mandates that the U.S. government is the defendant when federal employees are sued in their official role under state laws. The department's move applies only to allegations made under local laws in Washington, D.C. 

The Justice Department's new stance contradicts the position it took during Biden's administration, when prosecutors argued in a criminal case against Trump - one that has since been dismissed - that many of his actions surrounding the riot were unrelated to his official responsibilities. 

Trump, since returning to the presidency in January, has moved to exert control over the Justice Department, and its new senior officials have demanded that government lawyers be faithful to his agenda.

Police officers and Democratic lawmakers filed eight civil lawsuits against Trump - now consolidated and being handled by Mehta - seeking monetary damages in the aftermath of the attack, arguing that he directed and aided assaults on police. Trump gave an incendiary speech to supporters shortly before they descended on the Capitol.

Trump has denied the allegations made against him in the litigation and has asked the judge to deem him immune on the grounds the he was acting in his formal role as president.

Lawyers for several of the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The plaintiffs have urged Mehta to reject Trump's immunity claim. The judge has not yet ruled.

A federal appeals court previously rejected Trump's immunity claim in the lawsuits, but let him renew his argument if he brought forward evidence that he was acting in his role as president rather than as a political candidate.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Andy Sullivan and Will Dunham)