Daily US Times: Former President Donald Trump’s acquittal at his latest impeachment trial may not be the final thing on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. The next step for Mr Trump could be the courts.
Now a private citizen, Mr Trump is stripped of his protection from legal liability that the presidency gave him. That change in legal status is something that even Republican Senator who voted on Saturday in favor of Trump to acquit of inciting the January 6 attack are stressing as they urge Americans to move on from impeachment.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after that vote: “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run.”
He insisted that the courts were a more appropriate venue to hold the former president accountable than a Senate trial.
McConnell said: “He didn’t get away with anything yet.”
The insurrection at the Capitol building, in which five people, including a police officer died, is just one of the legal cases shadowing Trump in the months after he was voted out of office. He also faces legal exposure in the state of Georgia over an alleged pressure campaign on state election officials, and in Manhattan over hush-money payments and business deals.
But Donald Trump’s culpability under the law for inciting the violent Capitol riot is by no means clear-cut.
The standard is high under court decisions reaching back 50 years. Mr Trump could also be sued by victims, though he has some constitutional protections, including if he acted while carrying out the duties of president.
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