Why lawsuits against Trump for Capitol attack will likely move forward in court: Constitutional law expert

Harvard Constitutional law Professor Laurence Tribe explained on MSNBC Tuesday night that the two lawsuits from members of Congress against former President Donald Trump will likely move forward because the laws that they're about are deeply rooted in American jurisprudence.

Speaking to Lawrence O'Donnell, Tribe explained that the laws cited aren't necessarily about incitement but about "conspiracy to interfere in the operations of government."

"In this case, conspiracy to prevent the certification of the next president," he explained. "That is count one, which is based on an 1871 law. And then count two involves knowing about the conspiracy, knowing that it is causing harm, and then doing nothing about it. That's basically dereliction of duty. Those two federal counts are extremely solid. "

He went on to say that the final seven counts are based on District of Columbia law. Count five, for example, "involves the harm that people do when they organize attacks against others based on race, ethnicity or politics. Their political affiliation, their political ideology. Well, obviously, this is an attack, as the president makes clear, on those members of Congress who are ready to certify the election of the next president. When you look at the counts carefully, including the seven that are based on District of Columbia law, they are quite invulnerable legally to any challenge. In my judgment, they raise no constitutional problems."

Professor Tribe went on to say that the allegations are specific enough that they meet all of the requirements necessary, so if someone wanted to dismiss them, it likely wouldn't work.

"And not only as you said Lawrence, every member of Congress who would file similar suits but what about the survivors of the Capitol police who were injured or killed," Professor Tribe continued. "What about the people who were terrorized, who were calling home to say good-bye to their loved ones? This is a very serious lawsuit, and it's going to be an important way for accountability to take place. Even if for various political or other reasons, the criminal prosecutions do not land Donald Trump in an orange jumpsuit. These lawsuits are going to provide financial compensation and punitive damages to the many people who were terribly hit by the insurrection. The people of the United States will not be fully compensated for sure. But the people who were at the Capitol who were the direct victims of this attack will, I think, receive a measure of justice."

See his explanation below:

Tribelaw on lawsuit from members of Congress against Trumpwww.youtube.com