This court rejected efforts to freeze the case and allowed discovery to move forward on the January 6 insurrection.
WASHINGTON — The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued a statement following a ruling in Smith v. Trump that rejected efforts to bring the case to a halt and allowed discovery and fact-finding to proceed. This case was consolidated with other January 6-related cases and was ruled on under Lee, et al. v. Trump, et al. The Smith case is the largest civil lawsuit regarding the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In it, seven injured U.S. Capitol Police officers bring claims against those they view as principally responsible for the attack, including President Trump, his presidential campaign, and over a dozen other defendants, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Discovery remains stayed as to Defendant Trump, but it may continue as to his 2020 campaign organizations, the Proud Boys, and other defendants.
“Today’s ruling is an important step toward accountability for the harm caused to our country on January 6, 2021, but there is still much work to do. While Donald Trump continues to claim that he has immunity for his role in the attack on our democracy, this decision ensures that critical evidence can still be gathered while his appeal proceeds. Our case is one of the last remaining opportunities to hold him and other defendants accountable, and this ruling allows us to continue the fight.
“Five years later, the American people deserve accountability from those responsible for the attack. This decision is a meaningful affirmation that efforts to hold perpetrators of the attack accountable cannot simply be put on hold. WeI have said and will continue to say: no one is above the law – not even the president. We cannot stop until all those responsible for the chaos and destruction inflicted on our democratic participation and constitutional governance are brought to justice.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. The Lawyers’ Committee implements its mission and objectives by marshaling the pro bono resources of the bar for litigation, public policy, advocacy and other forms of service by lawyers to the cause of civil rights.
