NEW YORK – A federal judge has denied an attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to personally replace President Trump as a defendant in a high-profile defamation lawsuit linked to rape allegations against him.
Writer E. Jean Carroll, in a 2019 book, accused President Trump of raping her in the 1990s. Trump, in turn, called her a liar and she personally sued him in state court for defamation.
The Justice Department got the lawsuit moved to federal court and then moved for the United States to replace Trump as a defendant in its entirety, arguing that it was effectively suing a U.S. government employee for actions taken in the course. From his job.
But Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected that argument.
“The President of the United States is not a ‘government employee’ within the meaning of the relevant statutes. Even if he were an ’employee,’ President Trump’s allegedly defamatory statements about Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment. Consequently, the motion to replace the United States in place of President Trump … is denied, “he wrote.
Last week, what was supposed to be a hearing on the government’s motion turned into chaos, after the Justice Department attorney who came from Virginia to argue the case was unable to enter court due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Judge Kaplan offered to let the government argue over the phone, but they chose to build on their previous submissions.
This is a developing story.
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