According to a report, former President Donald Trump has protested on social media after the DOJ determined that there is no longer a sufficient reason for the Department of Justice to defend Trump in a defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice reversed its previous stance, saying that Trump was shielded since he was the President while he made the statements. The department ruled that Trump may be held personally responsible for words he spoke about a woman who falsely charged him with rape.
A report shows a jury decided in May that Trump had “sexually abused” and defamed Carroll, awarding Carroll a total of $5 million in damages.
During a town hall on CNN a few weeks after the decision, Trump harshly criticized E Jean. Carroll.
Despite a previous settlement with Trump for his remarks during the CNN town hall, E. Jean Carroll went after him again and sought new damages. The Justice Department has informed the judge in Manhattan federal court that it no longer has “a sufficient basis” to conclude that President Trump was driven in his statements about columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims by anything other than a trivial interest to serve the United States.
Department officials had previously agreed with Trump’s lawyers that he was immune from the case under the Westfall Act, a law that provides federal workers ultimate protection from lawsuits filed over behavior happening within their official duties.
According to an online media outlet, former President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll in June, claiming that she had falsely accused him of rape.
In June, the lawsuit was submitted to a federal court in Manhattan. Trump’s complaint makes reference to Carroll’s statements after the judgment. He is demanding an apology and unspecified compensation, and punitive damages.
