A week after President Donald Trump pardoned those charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, his administration is facing a new and related question: Will he continue the Biden administration’s defense of the officer who killed protester Ashli Babbitt?
At issue is a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the government that hinges on claims and evidence that the shooter, a U.S. Capitol Police officer, was inadequately trained and had a record of disciplinary problems.
While Joe Biden was president, the Justice Department stood for Capitol Police Capt. Michael Byrd in the lawsuit.
After Trump’s inauguration last week, he pardoned the rioters, including those who were with Babbitt when she was shot and killed after being pushed into the Speaker’s Lobby behind the House floor.
That appears to put the Justice Department in a pickle: How does it turn away from its hundreds of cases and convictions but move forward in defending the shooting of Babbitt?
“I can’t imagine that President Trump would want to defend this for one minute,” said Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, which filed the lawsuit.
