U.S. refusal to defend lawmaker in Capitol riot a signal to Trump -experts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's refusal to defend a Republican congressman accused in a civil lawsuit of helping to incite the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol could hamper former President Donald Trump's legal defense in the same case, experts said.
The department late Tuesday told a federal judge it had declined a request by Representative Morris "Mo" Brooks to grant him immunity by covering him under the Westfall Act, which shields federal employees from being sued for their words or actions in the course of their employment.
Experts said the move appeared to send a message to Trump, a co-defendant in the case, ruling out immunity when it warned that inciting an attack on Congress "is not within the scope of employment of a Representative - or any federal employee."
Donald Ayer, a senior Justice Department official in the Republican administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, said: "The government's filing sends a clear message... No leader in our government is acting within the scope of his employment when he acts to subvert the free and fair election by getting people to go up and riot and interfere."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-refusal-to-defend-lawmaker-in-capitol-riot-a-signal-to-trump-experts/ar-AAMHnhs