Is it true presidential pardons do not protect one from being prosecuted or sued civily? For example, couldn't members of the Secret Service and or the J6 Biden political prisoners sue Cheney and the entire J6 committee? There won't be justice until these criminals are behind bars. It's wishful thinking because nothing changed today; the deep state is still fully in charge.
Probably not. Although the J6 dems and Cheney certainly had a lot to say outside of Congress.
PS The same Congressional dems were whining about the President's immunity when acting in his official capacity.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/
Article I, Section 6, Clause 1:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
The Supreme Court has described the Speech or Debate Clause as a provision that cannot be interpreted literally,
1 but instead must be construed broadly in order to effectuate the Clause’s vital role in the constitutional separation of powers.
2 Deceptively simple
3 phrases—such as shall not be questioned, Speech or Debate, and even Senators and Representatives—have therefore been accorded meanings that extend well beyond their literal constructions.
4 Arguably, this purpose-driven interpretive approach has given rise to some ambiguity in the precise scope of the protections afforded by the Clause. Despite uncertainty at the margins, it is well established that the Clause serves to secure the independence of the federal legislature by providing Members of Congress and their aides with immunity from criminal prosecutions or civil suits that stem from acts taken within the legislative sphere.
5 As succinctly described by the Court, the Clause’s immunity from liability applies even though their conduct, if performed in other than legislative contexts, would in itself be unconstitutional or otherwise contrary to criminal or civil statutes.
6 This general immunity principle forms the core of the protections afforded by the Clause.