In a significant development, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reversed its stance on the immunity of former President Donald Trump from a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. The lawsuit pertains to Trump's denial of Carroll's sexual assault allegations while he was in office.
The DOJ's latest filing, which contradicts a legal position initially adopted under Trump and maintained under President Joe Biden, clears the path for the lawsuit to proceed to trial in January. This will be the second time Trump has faced Carroll in court in less than a year.
Carroll's lawsuit stems from Trump's denial of her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store's dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump, while serving as president in 2019, dismissed the incident as a fabrication and described Carroll as "not my type." A jury earlier this year found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation related to additional comments he made post-presidency.
The DOJ's initial stance was to substitute itself as the defendant in the case, a move that would have effectively ended the lawsuit as the government cannot be sued for defamation. However, the DOJ has now concluded that Trump's comments about Carroll were not "sufficiently actuated by a purpose to serve the United States Government."
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton stated that although Trump made the statements in a work context, the allegations related to a "purely personal incident" that occurred decades before his presidency. He added, "That sexual assault was obviously not job-related."
The DOJ also referenced the outcome of the jury trial earlier this year, suggesting that Trump was motivated by a "personal grievance" stemming from events that occurred many years prior to his presidency. Trump is currently appealing the verdict and the award of $5 million in damages.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, expressed gratitude for the DOJ's revised position and stated that they have always believed that Trump made his defamatory statements out of personal animus, ill will, and spite, and not as President of the United States. She added that with this obstacle removed, they look forward to the trial in January 2024.
Trump's legal team has yet to respond to the latest development. However, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, criticized the DOJ's decision, accusing it of breaking with long-standing tradition in a desperate attempt to perpetuate this hoax.
