Former US President Donald Trump may face legal consequences for derogatory comments he made about a woman who accused him of rape, according to recent developments. The US Department of Justice has stated that its lawyers previously argued for Trump’s legal immunity, citing his status as president when he made the remarks in 2019.
However, government attorneys announced on Tuesday that they no longer have sufficient grounds to support the claim that Trump’s comments were within the scope of his presidential duties. This decision has bolstered E Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against Trump, as reported by CNN. In May, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll, a former magazine columnist, $5 million (£3.9 million) after being found liable for sexually assaulting her in 1996 at a New York department store.
Currently, Carroll, aged 79, is seeking $10 million from Trump in the defamation lawsuit, which is scheduled to proceed to trial in January. The legal action specifically highlights Trump’s remarks as president in 2019 when responding to reporters’ questions. The lawsuit has been updated to include additional comments made by Trump about Carroll during a CNN town hall the day after the court’s verdict two months ago.
The US Department of Justice had previously maintained the position that government attorneys could defend Trump since he made the comments while serving as president. However, the department’s lawyers reversed their stance on Tuesday, stating that “there is no longer a sufficient basis to conclude that the former president was motivated by ‘more than an insignificant’ desire to serve the United States Government.”
In a letter submitted to the presiding judge of the case, the Department of Justice explained that Trump’s motivations were rooted in a “personal grievance” stemming from events that occurred many years before his presidency. The department further emphasized that although Trump’s comments were made through official channels, they were in response to an accusation regarding “a purely personal incident: an alleged sexual assault that occurred decades prior to Mr. Trump’s presidency.”
Roberta A Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, expressed satisfaction with the justice department’s reconsideration. She remarked, “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.”
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