President Donald Trump promised, accurately, that his Jan. 6 “Save America/Stop the Steal” protest would be “wild.” As it turns out, its wildness created litigation opportunities that would otherwise be impossible.
Two sitting members of Congress – Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California – have each filed lawsuits against the former president (and others), in the wake of the attempted insurrection. These are civil suits – legal actions between private citizens or entities that are brought to reimburse the plaintiff for damages caused by the defendant.
The two congressmen allege Trump’s lies about the 2020 election incited the Capitol attackers and intentionally harmed them. But their goal goes beyond a dollar payday. Swalwell and Thompson hope to hold the former president accountable in a way that he has maddeningly eluded to date.
The path to accountability is through the legal terrain known as discovery. In civil cases, the U.S. court system allows both sides to demand vast troves of information from each other, essentially any evidence that is relevant or could lead to relevant evidence. Most importantly for the two Jan. 6 lawsuits, the parties can be required to give depositions – sworn testimony under penalty of perjury.
Anyone paying attention to the Trump presidency knows that a deposition to Donald Trump is like a cross to a vampire. He can’t seem to tell the truth for more than a few minutes at a time. In a civil case, the judge can order Trump to respond. If he remains intransigent, he could be ordered to jail until he complies.