By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys for President Donald Trump urged a federal judge on Friday to rule that Trump is entitled to presidential immunity from civil claims that he instigated a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election.

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U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta didn’t rule from the bench after hearing arguments from Trump attorneys and lawyers for Democratic members of Congress who sued the Republican president and allies over the Jan. 6. 2021, attack.

Trump spoke to a crowd of his supporters at the “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House before the mob’s attack disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Trump’s attorneys argue that his conduct leading up to Jan. 6 and on the day of the riot is protected by presidential immunity because he was acting in his official capacity.

“The entire point of immunity is to give the president clarity to speak in the moment as the commander-in-chief,” Trump attorney Joshua Halpern told the judge.

The lawmakers’ lawyers argue Trump can’t prove he was acting entirely in his official capacity rather than as an office-seeking private individual. And office-seekers aren’t entitled to presidential immunity, they contend.

“President Trump has the burden of proof here,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Joseph Sellers. “We submit that he hasn’t come anywhere close to satisfying that burden.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chaired the House Homeland Security Committee, sued Trump, his personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers extremist groups over the Jan. 6 riot. Other Democratic members of Congress later joined the litigation.

The civil claims survived Trump’s sweeping act of clemency on the first day of his second term, when he pardoned, commuted prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of all 1,500-plus criminal cases stemming from the Capitol siege.

By RUSS BYNUM

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — An Army sergeant charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five people at a Georgia base last summer faces arraignment Friday before a military judge.

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Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, is scheduled to appear in a courtroom at Fort Stewart a week after Army prosecutors referred his case to a general court-martial, which handles cases involving the most serious crimes under military law.

Officials say Radford opened fire with a personal handgun Aug. 6 on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, injuring four soldiers and a civilian worker who was Radford’s romantic partner, before fellow soldiers were able to disarm and restrain him until military police arrived. The Army initially said all five victims were soldiers.

A week after the shootings, Army prosecutors charged Radford with six counts of attempted murder and assault, with the sixth victim being a person the shooter fired at and missed. They also charged him with domestic violence. That charge was added because the injured civilian worker was Radford’s “intimate partner,” Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army prosecutors’ office, told The Associated Press.

The Army has not released the victims’ names and Fort Stewart officials have declined to comment on what led to the shooting.

Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Since the shootings, Radford has been held in pretrial confinement at a Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina. His military attorney, Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, said last week that his office does not comment on pending cases.

The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.

Radford has been serving as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.

Soldiers in Radford’s unit said they followed the sound of gunfire into the hallways of an office building where they found hazy gun smoke in the air and wounded victims on the floor and in nearby offices.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, credited soldiers with saving lives by immediately rendering first aid, in some cases using their bare hands to staunch bleeding gunshot wounds.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart the day after the shootings to award Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers who helped restrain the gunman and treat the victims.

By TODD RICHMOND and SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans threatened Friday to impeach embattled judge Hannah Dugan if she doesn’t resign immediately after she was convicted of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, saying her time serving the people of the state is over.

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Federal prosecutors in April accused the judge of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant and leading him out of her courtroom through a private door. A jury convicted her of felony obstruction late Thursday after a four-day trial.

Dugan faces up to five years in prison when she’s sentenced. No sentencing date has been set.

The Wisconsin Constitution bars convicted felons from holding public office. The state Judicial Commission, which disciplines state judges, and Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley have not responded to questions Friday about when Dugan’s office will officially become vacant.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August, both Republicans, on Friday morning threatened to impeach Dugan if she doesn’t immediately resign. They cited a legal opinion issued by then-Attorney General Bronson La Follette in 1976 that a state senator lost his seat the moment he was convicted of a felony.

“Wisconsinites deserve to know their judiciary is impartial and that justice is blind,” Vos and August said. “Judge Hannah Dugan is neither, and her privilege of serving the people of Wisconsin has come to an end.”

Dugan’s defense team has not responded to a message seeking comment.

The case against Dugan played out against a background of political turmoil over President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats insisted the administration was trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation. Trump’s administration branded Dugan an activist judge and posted photos of her being led away in handcuffs.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, posted Friday that “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

“No one can obstruct law enforcement as they carry out their basic duties,” she said in a social media post. “This Department of Justice will not waver as our agents and law enforcement partners continue to make America Safe Again.”

Dugan never took the stand. Steve Biskupic, her lead attorney, later said he was disappointed with the ruling and didn’t understand how the jury could have reached a split verdict since the elements of both charges were so similar. Her team is expected to appeal the verdict.

A coalition of 13 advocacy groups, including Common Cause Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters Wisconsin, said “higher courts must carefully review the serious constitutional questions this case raises about due process, judicial authority, and federal overreach.”

The Democracy Defenders Fund, a group that says it works to defend “the foundations of our democracy,” sent a fundraising email shortly after the verdicts were handed down Thursday night to help cover Dugan’s legal expenses.

“This case is far from over,” the group’s executive chair, Norm Eisen, said in the email. “Higher courts will have the opportunity to determine whether this prosecution crossed the lines that protect the judiciary from executive overreach.”

On April 18, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to Ashley’s office. After they had left led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November he had been deported.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and further trimmed losses from earlier in the week for several major indexes.

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The S&P 500 jumped 0.7%, adding to gains made on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259 points, or 0.5%, as of 11:06 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq jumped 0.9% and is now slightly higher for the week.

Technology stocks with an focus on artificial intelligence once again led the market. Nvidia jumped 2.6% and Broadcom rose 1.4%.

Oracle rose 6.7% on news that it, along with two other investors, had signed agreements to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each get a 15% share in the popular social video platform, ensuring that it can continue operating in the U.S.

Company earnings and how companies are performing amid tariffs and inflation were a key focus for Wall Street.

Nike slumped 8.7%, as the impact from tariffs overshadowed an otherwise strong quarterly profit report. Frozen potato maker Lamb Weston fell 23.8%, despite also beating Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts.

Winnebago Industries jumped 12.3% after turning in profits and revenue for its latest quarter that easily beat analysts’ estimates.

Homebuilders dropped following a report showing that home sales slowed from a year earlier for the first time since May. Lennar lost 2.3% and KB Home fell 8.3%.

A survey from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment in December improved slightly from November, but is deeply diminished from a year ago.

“Despite some signs of improvement to close out the year, sentiment remains nearly 30% below December 2024, as pocketbook issues continue to dominate consumer views of the economy,” wrote Surveys of Consumers Director, Joanne Hsu.

Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as persistent inflation squeezes consumers. The job market is also slowing while retail sales weaken. Business and consumers are also worrying about the continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war that has targeted key partners including China and Canada.

The latest inflation update on Thursday revealed a surprise cooling of prices in November. The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index rose 2.7%. But economists quickly warned that those numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown.

Inflation is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate at its most recent meeting. It has been concerned about the slowing job market hurting the economy. But cutting interest rates could add more fuel to inflation, which could also stunt economic growth.

The Fed has maintained a cautious stance about interest rate policy heading into 2026 and Wall Street is mostly betting that it will hold steady on rates at its next meeting in January.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.13% from 4.11% late Thursday.

Japanese stocks rose after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in 30 years. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1%, leading the rise across Asia’s key markets. Markets in Europe also gained ground.

AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed.