Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Judge Shuts Down Trump Lawyer's Claim That He Urged Supporters To Be Peaceful On Jan. 6

Judge Shuts Down Trump Lawyer's Claim That He Urged Supporters To Be Peaceful On Jan. 6
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Things took a tense turn in a federal court hearing on Monday about former Republican President Donald Trump's role in the January 6 insurrection, when federal Judge Amit Mehta appeared to have little patience for Trump's version of the story.

Trump's lawyers attempted to claim that Trump told his supporters to behave "peacefully and patriotically" during the January 6 events. But Judge Mehta was having none of it, citing Trump's hours of silence before and during the storming of the Capitol.


Mehta bluntly shot back at Trump's lawyer, "Let's stick with the facts," before listing off the myriad ways Trump's behavior could have been construed as an endorsement of the deadly coup attempt.

His response left many people on social media cheering.

The hearing was in response to three civil suits brought by Capitol Police and House Democrats Eric Swalwell and Bennie Thompson that allege Trump and his allies, including Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr., Republican Representative Mo Brooks and far-right groups The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, directly instigated the attack on the Capitol.

Trump's lawyers are pushing for the suits to be thrown out of court on the basis of presidential immunity. During the hearing, one of Trump's lawyers, Jesse Binnall, argued that Trump had urged his supporters to be peaceful on January 6.

Binnall also ttempted to argue that Trump's rhetoric was no different than that of leftist Senator Bernie Sanders' in the lead-up to the 2017 shooting of GOP Representative Steve Scalise during a congressional baseball game practice.

Judge Mehta shot back that he was not "interested" in "whataboutism," before making it clear he was not about to let Trump's lawyers' version of events stand. He responded:

"Let's stick with the facts..."
"[For a] two-hour period, [Trump did not] take to Twitter or to any other type of communication and say, 'Stop. Get out of the Capitol. What you are doing is not what I wanted you to do.'"
"What would you have me do with the allegation that the president did not act?"

On social media, people applauded Mehta for his no-nonsense approach to the Trump lawyers' claims.










Though Mehta, an Obama appointee, seemed least amenable to the Trump team's claims, he was also skeptical of the plaintiffs' claims that Trump's behavior constituted a conspiracy and seemed unsure about their assertion that it fell outside the parameters of presidential immunity from prosecution.

Judge Mehta's ruling on the hearing is still forthcoming as of this writing.

More from People/donald-trump

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less