The U.S. Justice Department made a \u201cwrong and dangerous\u201d argument in seeking to defend former President Donald Trump against E. Jean Carroll’s claim that he defamed her when he denied her allegation of rape, her lawyers have told a court.<\/p>\n
During Trump\u2019s presidency, the Justice Department sought to make the United States, not him personally, the defendant in Carroll\u2019s lawsuit \u2013 a move that would put U.S. taxpayers on the hook if the former advice columnist got a payout in the case.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department has argued that the statements he made about Carroll, including that she was \u201ctotally lying\u201d to sell a memoir and that \u201cshe\u2019s not my type,\u201d fell within the scope of his job as president. The federal lawyers said he had to respond to her claims because they essentially questioned his fitness to hold public office.<\/p>\n
TRUMP ACCUSATIONS: 19 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Here’s what their stories have in common<\/strong><\/p>\n In court papers filed late Friday, Carroll\u2019s lawyers said Trump\u2019s comments were \u201cpersonal, not presidential\u201d \u2013 and that accepting the Justice Department\u2019s view would essentially create a rule allowing federal officials to slur their detractors at will.<\/p>\n \u201cThat rule is both wrong and dangerous,\u201d Carroll\u2019s lawyers, led by Roberta Kaplan, wrote in asking a federal appeals court to reject the Justice Department\u2019s argument. \u201cIt reflects a disturbing belief that federal officials should have free rein to destroy the reputations and livelihoods of any perceived critic \u2013 no matter how unrelated to the business of governance.\u201d<\/p>\n Messages were sent Saturday morning to Justice Department attorneys on the case and to the law firm that has represented Trump\u2019s personally in the suit.<\/p>\n Carroll alleged in 2019 that Trump raped her in a New York luxury department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. She has been trying to get a DNA sample from him to test against male genetic material on a dress she says she was wearing during the encounter.<\/p>\n Carroll\u2019s lawsuit said his comments sullied her character and damaged her career. She was a longtime Elle magazine columnist until late 2019.<\/p>\n This past October, a federal judge in Manhattan turned down the government\u2019s bid to make the U.S. the defendant. In the final days of Trump\u2019s presidency, the Justice Department appealed.<\/p>\n Government lawyers wrote that Trump was expected to respond to questions from the media \u2013 such as queries about Carroll\u2019s allegations \u2013 and acted within the parameters of the presidency when \u201che seeks to defuse personal issues that threaten to impair his ability to achieve his agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLikewise, the President \u2026 acts within the scope of his office when he responds to public critics,\u201d the lawyers said.<\/p>\n Carroll\u2019s lawyers are asking the appeals court to uphold the judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Carroll said in a statement Friday that portraying Trump\u2019s remarks about her as part of his presidential work was offensive to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that it is offensive to the Justice Department under President (Joe) Biden,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.<\/p>\n A USA TODAY review of 19 women’s allegations\u00a0\u2014 the number who allege non-consensual physical contact\u00a0\u2014 as well as more than 4,000 words that Trump has spoken, tweeted or released in written statements since 2016 addressing their allegations,\u00a0show\u00a0patterns in both the alleged behavior and Trump’s reactions.<\/p>\n