Justice Department wants to assist Donald Trump in Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit

In an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday asked to take over the case of President Donald Trump from his personal attorneys in a defamation suit brought by author E Jean Carroll, who has accused the president of sexual assault.

Citing the Federal Tort Claims Act, the DOJ in a filing submitted to a New York District Court also requested to move the suit to a federal court, arguing that Trump was acting in his official presidential capacity when he denied knowing Carroll. The act the DOJ cited provides for suits against the government.

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“Because President Trump was acting within the scope of his office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the plaintiff’s claim arose, the United States will file a motion to substitute itself for President Trump in this action for claims falling under the Federal Tort Claims Act,” acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark argued in the filing.

The move, which will enable the President to fight the case at taxpayer expense, comes amid the ongoing criticism that the Justice Department has acted in the President’s personal interests. Caroll accused Trump of raping her in a 2019 memoir. Following this, she had filed a case against the President, arguing that he lied when he said publicly that he had never met her.

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“Today’s actions demonstrate that Trump will do everything possible, including using the full powers of the federal government, to block discovery from going forward in my case before the upcoming election to try to prevent a jury from ever deciding which one of us is lying,” Caroll said in a statement to CNN.

“Even in today’s world, that argument is shocking,” said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, of the Justice Department’s move.