Donald Trump won't appeal immunity ruling in Jan. 6 civil lawsuits
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Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Donald Trump and his legal team have decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court a decision that ruled he has no immunity defense in civil lawsuits.
The move allows Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection civil suits against him to proceed without delay.
The ruling also means he could be held liable what pro-Trump rioters did during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The former president let the Thursday deadline for appealing the civil immunity pass without filing an appeal.
A federal appeals court ruled in December that Trump is not immune from the Jan. 6 civil lawsuits because he was acting as a presidential candidate and not as president.
He could still claim immunity later in the lawsuits from Capitol police officers and 11 members of Congress over the pro-Trump mob's Jan. 6 attack.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told NBC News, "President Trump will continue to fight for presidential immunity all across the spectrum."
The partner of late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick also has sued Trump and two participants in the Jan. 6 attack for $10 million.
Sandra Garza's suit accuses Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 violence with lies about the 2020 election. She names Julian Khater and George Tanios, charged with assaulting Sicknick, in that suit.
The immunity issue in these civil suits is separate from Trump's claim of presidential immunity in the four criminal cases against him.
Earlier this month a D.C. federal appeals court panel rejected Trump's broad claim of presidential criminal immunity in those cases.
Trump has appealed that immunity ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
