Left inset: U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta (U.S. District Court). Main: President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta).

Now that a federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump can't hide behind immunity to avoid civil liability for his Jan. 6 speech and the violence that followed that day, the president has a week to explain "why merits discovery should not proceed against him."

In a brief order on Monday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta told the Democratic lawmakers and Capitol Police officers suing Trump that discovery against the president remains on hold, including a deposition. Whether that continues depends on what Trump says next, the judge suggested.

"The condition to stay discovery against any defendant or third party in these matters is no longer extant, with the court having ruled on Defendant President Trump's immunity motion," Mehta's minute order began. "Accordingly, the parties in these consolidated cases shall meet and confer and, by May 1, 2026, submit a proposed discovery plan."

"President Trump shall show cause by April 29, 2026, why merits discovery should not proceed against him. His response shall be no more than ten pages," the Barack Obama-appointed jurist added.

More Law&Crime coverage: Trump can't duck Jan. 6 lawsuits after federal judge says president was acting in personal capacity

The order comes several weeks after Mehta ruled that presidential immunity could not spare Trump from liability for unofficial acts in his private capacity, also finding the president's "remarks" from the Ellipse on Jan. 6 "plausibly were inciting words that are not protected by the First Amendment."

"His statements to 'Take the F'ing mags away' and that 'They're not here to hurt me' may not amount to a confession. But those words support the reasonable inference that he meant for his Ellipse Speech to be heard as 'an implicit call for imminent violence or lawlessness,'" Mehta said, clarifying that Trump could still "reassert official-acts immunity as a defense at trial."

According to the minute order, the plaintiffs must respond to Trump's brief by May 8, and Trump has until May 15 to reply to the plaintiffs' response.

Tags: court, discovery, Donald Trump, federal judge, Jan. 6, Judge Amit Mehta, Washington D.C.