A federal judge has issued a mixed ruling regarding civil lawsuits against former President Donald J. Trump related to the events of January 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta has paused seven civil lawsuits pending appeal, but allowed limited pretrial discovery to continue in a significant related case.
Details of the Ruling
Judge Mehta granted stays in most of the consolidated cases, but in the largest lawsuit, Smith v. Trump, he ruled that while discovery is stayed against Trump himself, proceedings involving other defendants and third parties can continue. This decision follows a March 2026 memorandum where Judge Mehta largely denied Trump’s motion for summary judgment on official-acts immunity.
The court had previously determined that Trump did not prove his conduct on January 6 fell within his official presidential duties. Both Trump and the U.S. government appealed this ruling and requested a halt to all related proceedings.
Smith v. Trump Case
In the Smith case, which involves seven plaintiffs and over a dozen defendants including Trump’s 2020 campaign entities, Judge Mehta noted that discovery among other parties has been ongoing without objection from Trump. The defense argued that an appeal should divest the district court of control over the case, but Judge Mehta rejected this, allowing certain parts of the case to proceed without affecting Trump’s legal standing.
Conversely, the court ordered a complete stay in Lee v. Trump, due to its narrower scope and limited discovery expected, which cannot be separated from the immunity claims without affecting the appeal’s purpose.
Government’s Motion Denied
The court also denied a parallel motion for a stay filed by the United States, which sought to pause litigation after the court rejected its request to substitute itself as the defendant for local law claims under the Westfall Act. Judge Mehta ruled that the United States faces no irreparable harm as it will not be an active party in the Smith discovery process.
A request by Trump and the United States to temporarily pause Thursday’s ruling pending further appellate review was immediately denied.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
