Justice Dept. intervenes on behalf of Trump in defamation case brought by woman who accused him of rape
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Justice Department on Tuesday intervened in the defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says President Trump raped her years ago, moving the matter to federal court and signaling it wants to make the U.S. government — rather than Trump himself — the defendant in the case.
In filings in federal court in Manhattan, the Justice Department asserted that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he denied during interviews in 2019 that he had raped journalist E. Jean Carroll more than two decades ago in a New York City department store. Carroll sued Trump over that denial in November .
The maneuver removes the case — at least for now — from state court in New York, where a judge last month had rejected Trump’s bid for a delay and put Carroll’s team back on course to seek a DNA sample and an under-oath interview from the president. It also means that Justice Department lawyers will be essentially aiding Trump’s defense, and taxpayers could be on the hook for any potential damages, if the U.S. government is allowed to stand in for Trump. Winning damages against the government, though, would be more unlikely than in a suit against Trump, as the notion of “sovereign immunity” gives the government and its employees broad protection from lawsuits.
Justice Department lawyers said that because Trump was acting as president when he denied the allegations, a judge should “substitute the United States for President Trump as defendant.”
In a statement, Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, blasted the department’s filing. She noted that because a New York state court had rejected Trump’s bid for a delay, he was “soon going to be required to produce documents, provide a DNA sample, and sit for a deposition.”
“Realizing that there was no valid basis to appeal that decision in the New York courts, on the very day that he would have been required to appeal, Trump instead enlisted the U.S. Department of Justice to replace his private lawyers and argue that when he lied about sexually assaulting our client, explaining that she ‘wasn’t his type,’ he was acting in his official capacity as President of the United States,” Kaplan said.
“Even in today’s world, that argument is shocking. It offends me as a lawyer, and offends me even more as a citizen. Trump’s effort to wield the power of the U.S. government to evade responsibility for his private misconduct is without precedent, and shows even more starkly how far he is willing to go to prevent the truth from coming out.”
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President* Trump's answer for all his personal issues, aka his crimes, is to say to the effect of "I'm president and you're not and I can do anything I want and you can't touch me, na na -na na -na na ."
Throw him out and lock him up.
Yes, but this is what we expect from him. My issue is that our Agencies and Institutes are going along with it. Even though it is highly unlikely there still is a possibility if this argument is accepted the taxpayers are on the line to pay out for any damages.
I think Trump's claim that he is the president and cannot be subject to the judicial system precedes Barr's arrival in his administration, but I could be wrong about that.
I guess this woman's day in court with Trump will have to wait a few months.
You are correct though, the taxpayer should not be footing Trump's defense of rape charges legal bills.
From what I've read from multiple sources, Trump was loosing his argument in this case in the state courts to where there was going to be testimony and finding of fact that would be made public at a time Trump would not welcome it. Trump won't escape it, but can delay it. Then there is the point that puts the US Taxpayers on the hook for the costs of defending Trump as he clams "It happened while in the execution of his work." or some other Trumpian bullshit.
Justice delayed is justice denied.....
Yes, Barr waiting to the last minute to throw this out there was tactical and for the purpose to delay potentially unfavorable facts coming out before the elections but as you say, it is still going to cost the taxpayers money in way of DOJ resources. This is so damn aggravating.
This is what Trump has done in so many of his lawsuits in the past..... drawn them out to where the plaintiffs have the choice to go broke or drop the case..... How is that justice?
Unbelievable!!! Trump isn't the POTUS, he's the EMPEROR.
The courts still have to agree that Trump was "acting in his official capacity as President" before this is allowed. It's so ridiculous that it's hard to imagine any rational judge agreeing.
From where I stand it is all about delaying testimony and the finding of facts that would come out in public. That and possibly running her out of money to drop the case...... the typical Trump M.O.
I believe that is all it is. Just Trump and Barr trying to run out the clock before the election.
I'm pretty sure that Roberta Kaplan would represent her pro bono if needs be. Kaplan won't walk away once she's taken a client, she won US v. Windsor as a pro bono attorney. That took 4 years.