While making it clear that he understands “deny[ing] a President immunity from civil damages is no small step,” Mehta wrote that “the alleged facts of this case are without precedent, and the court believes that its decision is consistent with the purposes behind such immunity.” Mehta added that while Trump‘s lawyers insist he was just performing his role as president when he incited a riot that left five people dead, Trump’s actions surrounding January 6 had nothing to do with “his duties of faithfully executing the laws, conducting foreign affairs, commanding the armed forces, or managing the Executive Branch,” but instead “entirely concern[ed] his efforts to remain in office for a second term.” In other words, trying to steal an election does not, in fact, fall under the POTUS’s job description, so you can take your immunity claims back to Mar-a-Lago and flush them down whichever toilet isn’t currently clogged with classified documents.
According to Politico, Trump
does not have the immediate right to appeal the decision but can ask the judge for permission, which he undoubtedly will in an extremely all-caps fashion.
abovethelaw.com
