Trump, not acting in presidential capacity on Jan. 6, can be sued, court rules

• "The Office of the Presidency as an institution is agnostic about who will occupy it next," Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote. "And campaigning to gain that office is not an official act of the office."

Context: Presidential immunity doesn't extend to unofficial actions, the court said, turning to precedent set in former immunity lawsuits, including one against former President Bill Clinton by then-Arkansas state employee Paula Jones over sexual advances.

• "When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen," Srinivasan wrote.

Zoom out: Trump faced federal charges for using false claims of election fraud to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including delaying certification on Jan. 6, 2021.

• Trump's lawyers had cited presidential immunity to dismiss these charges.
• "When a sitting president acts in his capacity as a candidate for re-election, he acts as an office-seeker, not an office-holder," Srinivasan wrote.

What's next: Trump could continue to try to prove that his actions relating to Jan. 6 were conducted in his presidential capacity, Politico reported.

Go deeper: Trump shouldn't have immunity in E. Jean Carroll defamation suit, DOJ says