“The failure of the Senate to convict Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection means he can’t be held accountable for it in any way, the former president argued in a Monday court filing. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) sued Trump, Don Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) over the insurrection attempt, saying that they violated laws against placing public officials in danger. Trump replied for the first time in the case on Monday, saying that ‘a trial already occurred on Representative Swalwell’s allegations.’ ‘The Senate acquitted former President Trump,’ the filing reads. ‘Undoubtedly, Plaintiff was disappointed with that result, but it does not give him a second bite at the apple to relitigate the issues here'” Talking Points Memo reports.

“Swalwell alleged in the lawsuit that Trump incited the insurrection during his months-long campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and did so specifically during the Jan. 6 rally at the ellipse. That, Swalwell said, placed the lives of numerous public officials in danger, and also constituted violations of D.C. law that include aiding and abetting a riot. Trump hearkened back in the filing to the kind of standard response that he would use for any attempt at accountability during his presidency, describing those efforts as either harassment or witch hunts. In this case, Swalwell’s suit is ‘abuse of the legal system and an improper attempt to harass and malign a political opponent and his son.’ The court, located in D.C., is being asked, Trump said, ‘to wade into turbulent political waters to decide what controversial speech should be favored.’ The filing marks one of the first times that Trump has addressed the consequences of Jan. 6 – a ‘turbulent’ political event, no doubt – in court.”