A federal judge appointed by Barack Obama ruled this week that President Trump's speech at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, is not protected by presidential immunity — keeping a Democratic-driven civil lawsuit alive and ensuring Trump will be fighting this battle for years to come.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Trump's rally remarks fell outside the "outer perimeter" of his official presidential duties, applying the framework the Supreme Court established in its immunity ruling back in 2024. That ruling gave presidents full immunity for core official acts and presumptive immunity for acts within the outer perimeter — but left unofficial acts exposed. Mehta used that opening to let this bogus lawsuit walk right through.
Mehta was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Obama in 2014 and confirmed the same year. In 2021, he was appointed to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, succeeding Judge James Boasberg, who served as presiding judge from 2020 to 2021.
It sure is a small world when it comes to Obama-era appointees making consequential rulings against a Republican president.
It should come as no surprise that this is not Mehta's first rodeo targeting Trump. He previously refused to dismiss these same claims back in February 2022, ruled against Trump in a case involving congressional access to his financial records, and sentenced former Trump adviser Peter Navarro to four months in jail for defying a January 6 committee subpoena. Mehta has had his fingerprints on the anti-Trump legal machine for years.
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Mehta denied Trump's motion to dismiss the civil litigation, meaning Democratic lawmakers and Capitol Police officers who sued Trump can continue to pursue their case. The plaintiffs falsely claim Trump's Ellipse speech incited the crowd to riot.
The problem with their claim, of course, is Trump’s speech itself.
Trump literally told the crowd at the Ellipse to "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." That's the "incitement" Democrats keep telling us about. The speech itself is the best evidence that the insurrection narrative is a myth, but Mehta waved that aside anyway.
Joseph Sellers, an attorney for the Democratic lawmakers suing Trump, couldn't contain his excitement. "We're very pleased that the court recognized that President Trump cannot avoid accountability for his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021," he said. "This decision, if it holds up, is going to pave the way to a trial in federal district court on these claims."
Trump's legal team made it clear they’re not done fighting this.
"The facts show that on January 6, 2021, President Trump was acting on behalf of the American people, carrying out his official duties as President of the United States," the team said in a statement. "President Trump will continue to fight back against the Democrat Witch Hoaxes and keep delivering historic results for the American People."
Even though Trump’s team can appeal, the damage is real. This ruling will probably keep Trump tangled in civil litigation for the rest of his presidency and likely beyond — precisely what Democrats designed these lawsuits to accomplish. While the president focuses on governing and delivering results for the American people, a group of partisan plaintiffs and their enabling activist judges are still obsessed with their January 6 lies.
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