Legal experts have spoken, well, not directly to me, but to readers who passed along my inquiry in my last posting about the possibility of initiating civil action against those pardoned by Donald Trump for their participation in the January 6 insurrection and assault on Capitol police.
According to a New York district attorney and a retired dean of a midwestern university law school, the federal pardons Trump extended to January 6 assailants would not protect them from civil suits filed by police officers injured during the invasion of the Capitol.
From among the near 1,600 arrested for January 6 infractions Capitol police could seek damages from those convicted of physical attacks on them and from those who planned the insurrection.
“They absolutely can be sued civilly,” the district attorney said. “A presidential pardon only applies to criminal proceedings and can only be granted in federal matters.”
The retired law school dean counseled the Trump pardon/sentence commutation does not prevent filing a lawsuit for civil liability.
Legal fees, I would hope, could be paid on a contingency basis if the pardoned insurrectionists are found liable and assessed damages. Surely there should be sufficient progressive lawyers and law firms interested in setting the record straight concerning events that fateful day by representing one or more of the Capitol police.
That’s it for my free legal advice. I would hope sharper minds than mine are contemplating this line of validation that January 6 was indeed an attack on our democracy. It is beyond reprehensible that Republican House and Senate members that day who fled from their respective chambers to safety from the mob are now saying they did not witness anything dangerous, that they have seen no evidence. One can argue about Trump’s complicity in sending them to the Capitol, but clear evidence of their assault, available on videos filmed by news crews and private cell phones, cast no doubt about their vicious intent and actions to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, for 224 years a hallmark of our government, so callously rejected by Trump and his delusional supporters.
