UNITED STATES NEWS

Trump can be held liable in writer’s defamation lawsuit after Justice Department reverses course

Jul 11, 2023, 3:04 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department on Tuesday said that Donald Trump can be held personally liable for remarks he made about a woman who accused him of rape — a reversal of its position that Trump was protected because he was president when he made the remarks.

In a letter filed with the judge presiding over a defamation lawsuit that columnist E. Jean Carroll brought in Manhattan federal court in 2020, the department says it no longer has “a sufficient basis” to conclude that Trump was motivated in his statements about Carroll’s claims by more than an insignificant desire to serve the United States.

Previously, the department had agreed with Trump’s attorneys that he was protected from the lawsuit by the Westfall Act, which provides federal employees absolute immunity from lawsuits brought over conduct occurring within the scope of their employment.

In May, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in 1996 at a midtown Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman store and then defamed her last fall with comments he made about her and her claims. While the jury concluded Trump sexually abused Carroll, it rejected her rape claim.

The trial resulted from a lawsuit Carroll brought last November after New York state temporarily allowed victims of sexual abuse to make civil claims for attacks that occurred even decades earlier.

In the government’s letter, U.S. lawyers cited the jury’s verdict, Trump’s October deposition and new claims Carroll has since made that Trump defamed her again with comments he made during a CNN town hall a day after the verdict.

The letter gives fresh fuel to Carroll’s original defamation lawsuit, which had been delayed by appeals over whether Trump could be held liable for statements he made while president.

The original claims are scheduled for trial next January and stem from comments Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first went public with her claims about being sexually attacked by Trump in a memoir.

Carroll’s lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, welcomed the DOJ submission, saying it was one of the “last obstacles” to the lawsuit reaching trial.

“We are grateful that the Department of Justice has reconsidered its position,” she said in a statement. “We have always believed that Donald Trump made his defamatory statements about our client in June 2019 out of personal animus, ill will, and spite, and not as President of the United States.”

Lawyers for Trump did not immediately comment.

Earlier in the day, Carroll’s lawyers filed papers challenging a counterclaim in the defamation lawsuit by Trump’s lawyers who maintained that Carroll had defamed him with comments she made after the May verdict — in part because she repeated statements that he had raped her.

The lawyers wrote that his counterclaim was “nothing more than his latest effort to spin his loss at trial.”

They said the sexual abuse Trump was found liable for was equivalent to rape under some criminal statutes and would require him to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender if it had been a criminal claim.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.

United States News

Two women hug as Muslim and Jewish women gather at an interfaith workshop on the Israeli-Palestinia...

Associated Press

In US, some Muslim-Jewish interfaith initiatives are strained by Israel-Hamas war

Shireen Quaizar was wracked with doubt. For years, the school psychologist has been active in Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue, but the Israel-Hamas war left her reeling. “What are we doing with talking to each other?” she recalled thinking, frustrated by a conversation about the exact number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike. “This doesn’t work.” […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves the Capitol after being expelled from the House of Repres...

Associated Press

Republicans had New Yorkers lead the way in expelling Santos. Will it help them keep the majority?

WASHINGTON (AP) — George Santos is gone from the House, but his name is certain to pop up in key congressional races across New York next year. Democrats are targeting five seats held by first-term Republicans and looking to associate them with their former colleague in the state’s congressional delegation as often as they can. […]

3 hours ago

This photo provided by Mattel shows a Barbie doll of Wilma Mankiller. Toy maker Mattel is honoring ...

Associated Press

Barbie doll honoring Cherokee Nation leader is met with mixed emotions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in the late Mankiller’s likeness as part of toymaker Mattel’s “Inspiring […]

10 hours ago

Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of th...

Associated Press

Lacking counselors, US schools turn to the booming business of online therapy

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Authorities identify suspect in killing of 3 homeless men in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man already in custody in connection with another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men, police said Saturday. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities […]

16 hours ago

Associated Press

Report: Contaminants being removed from vacant Chicago lot where migrant housing is planned

CHICAGO (AP) — High levels of mercury and other contaminants are being removed from a vacant Chicago lot where a tent camp housing 2,000 migrants is planned, a report from a consultant hired by the city said. The Chicago Tribune reported that the nearly 800-page assessment by Terracon Consultants released Friday night said high levels […]

17 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Trump can be held liable in writer’s defamation lawsuit after Justice Department reverses course