Trump civil suits get green light as he misses deadline to appeal immunity ruling

Donald Trump's choice not to challenge a presidential immunity ruling involving civil cases attempting to hold him accountable for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, has given a green light for the lawsuits to proceed, a new analysis contends.

Trump's decision not to contest a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal ruling against him from December affects pending civil litigation brought by police officers and lawmakers who were at the U.S. Capitol during the riots, Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley writes for NBC News. The deadline to appeal passed Thursday.

The case only affects civil claims and is separate to another claim that the president is immune from criminal prosecution because his actions were taken while he was president. That argument was also rejected earlier this month by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, but Trump has signaled that will be appealed.

But James Blassingame, an officer injured on Jan. 6, and fellow plaintiffs can move forward with multiple consolidated lawsuits against the former president, Hurley writes.

The officers seek compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury for the "physical and emotional injuries incurred," according to a Newsweek report.

While Trump tried to argue his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riots were protected as official acts as president, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately ruled Trump was acting as a political candidate.

The court ruling does allow Trump to continue "to develop his own facts on the immunity question," but it does not protect him from litigation, NBC reported.

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Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung affirmed to NBC that the former president will continue to argue his actions leading up to Jan. 6 were protected.

"President Trump will continue to fight for presidential immunity all across the spectrum," said Cheung.