On Wednesday a federal judge denied former President Donald Trump‘s request to delay a lawsuit against him seeking civil damages over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The move was Trump’s latest attempt to stall proceedings. In August, the former President’s legal team asked to delay the trial, citing considerable overlap between the case and a separate Capitol riot-related indictment.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied Trump’s stay motion in a brief order issued Wednesday, calling the request “unwarranted.”
“This case remains at the motion-to-dismiss stage,” Mehta wrote. “The claimed dilemma posed by simultaneously defending himself in this case and his criminal case only will arise, if at all, during the discovery phase. His request is therefore premature. Further, the balance of interests, including Plaintiff’s and the public’s in moving this matter forward, do not favor a stay.”
Trump had sought the pause days after he was charged with four criminal counts in Washington, D.C., over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including allegations related to Jan. 6. It is one of four indictments Trump faces. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
“Absent a stay, President Trump will be placed in the untenable position of fully litigating this case and risking his criminal defense, or pleading the Fifth Amendment and hampering his chance of success in this case,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in court filings.
Sandra Garza, the longtime partner of Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died hours after the Capitol attack, filed the lawsuit against Trump shortly before the second anniversary of the Capitol attack.
Sicknick was pepper sprayed during the attack and passed away the following day after suffering two strokes. The medical examiner months later ruled he died from natural causes, while noting that “all that transpired played a role in his condition.” The U.S. Capitol Police said Sicknick died in the line of duty.
Trump asked for a pause for the duration of his criminal case, including any appeals, a timeline that could extend for months, if not years.
Garza also named two other defendants along with Trump in the lawsuit. The three defendants are being sued for wrongful death and other claims and Garza is demanding they each pay at least $10 million in addition to punitive damages.
Trump has separately asked the judge to dismiss him from the lawsuit, arguing he had immunity as president.
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