Trump demands multiple Jan. 6 lawsuits against him be halted until after Jack Smith trial

Donald Trump is trying to put on hold several January 6 lawsuits against him until his pending criminal trial is concluded, CNN reported Wednesday.

At least five suits have been filed against the former president by complainants including members of Congress who were attacked and police officers who were working at the Capitol on the day.

But in a filing, Trump argued that proceeding with those cases could tip off prosecutors about his trial strategy in the criminal January 6 case being brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith.

CNN reported Wednesday that Trump's lawyers made their case to federal District Judge Amit Mehta.

“President Trump should not be forced to waive any of his constitutional rights in this matter, nor prematurely telegraph his criminal defense strategies prior to the completion of the criminal proceedings,” the lawyers wrote.

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“The only way to adequately protect against this prejudice to his legal position is to stay these proceedings with respect to President Trump until the Special Counsel’s D.C. case is resolved."

Trump's criminal case is currently on hold while the Supreme Court considers his argument that his actions on January 6 should be covered by presidential immunity. The court is scheduled to hear that argument on April 25.

"The judge has previously signaled he was sympathetic to putting on hold any depositions of Trump in the lawsuits while his criminal case is pending," CNN reported. "Trump is guaranteed under the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment privilege to remain silent so he doesn’t incriminate himself, if he wanted to decline answering questions. But declining to answer questions in a civil deposition could be used against him in those cases."

According to Trump's lawyers, “If [he] is hampered by the civil litigation issues presented in this case, or worse, forced to choose between presenting his strongest defense in one case or the other, the appearance of justice could easily be damaged.

"Accordingly, it is in the public interest to allow President Trump to defend the criminal proceeding against him without the burden of this case.”

Read the full report here.

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