Justice Department declines to defend Rep. Mo Brooks against Jan. 6 incitement lawsuit
The Alabama Republican is one of several defendants in the suit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell, who says Brooks knowingly incited a mob of Trump supporters.
The Justice Department and the House of Representatives declined on Tuesday to represent Rep. Mo Brooks in a lawsuit that accuses him of helping to incite the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The Alabama Republican is one of several defendants in the suit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who says Brooks knowingly incited a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the Capitol, using incendiary rhetoric at a rally near the White House before the violent assault began. Trump himself, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a 42-page court filing last month, Brooks sought to dismiss the case against him, arguing that his remarks were within the scope of his duties as a House member. The Justice Department and the House have typically intervened to defend lawmakers sued for their official actions, and Brooks sought similar treatment against his colleague’s suit.
Brooks cited the Westfall Act, which Trump himself had previously invoked during his presidency, with the Justice Department’s support, to obtain federal representation against a defamation lawsuit by New York writer E. Jean Carroll. The Biden administration has maintained that position.
But in Brooks’ case, the Justice Department rejected the notion that he was acting in his official capacity, noting that his remarks at Trump’s rally were almost entirely political.
“The record indicates that the January 6 rally was an electioneering or campaign activity that Brooks would ordinarily be presumed to have undertaken in an unofficial capacity,” Justice Department civil attorneys said in a 29-page filing late Tuesday.
Also, Brooks stands accused of fomenting violence against the Capitol, which would be contrary to his duties as a lawmaker.
Earlier in the day, House counsel Doug Letter offered a similar rejection, noting that the House rarely intervenes in legal disputes between individual lawmakers, particularly when they’re not related to official House business. In his filing, Letter appended a letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Administration Committee, urging the Justice Department to reject Brooks’ request for legal representation, as well.
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The Justice Department and the House of Representatives declined to represent Rep. Mo Brooks in a lawsuit that accuses him of helping to incite the Jan. 6 Capitol riot https://t.co/WIABVFKYcd
— POLITICO (@politico) July 28, 2021
Good. The DOJ shouldn’t be defending any of these traitors.
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