In boost to Trump, appeals court opens door to DOJ shielding him in defamation lawsuit
By Katelyn Polantz and Tierney Sneed, CNN
A federal appeals court on Tuesday opened the door to allowing the Justice Department to shield former President Donald Trump for his conduct while president in a defamation lawsuit brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll.
That question — if Trump can be held personally responsible in Carroll’s defamation case — will now be sent to the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.
The Justice Department, under both the Trump and Biden administrations, is siding with Trump in arguing that the US government should be substituted for Trump as a defendant, a move that would have the effect of forcing the defamation case’s dismissal.
“Under the circumstances, we cannot say what the District would do in this case,” the appeals court wrote on Tuesday. “Under the laws of the District, were the allegedly libelous public statements made, during his term in office, by the President of the United States, denying allegations of misconduct, with regards to events prior to that term of office, within the scope of his employment as President of the United States?”
The 2-1 decision from the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals reverses a trial-court finding that Trump couldn’t be shielded by the Justice Department in the defamation case.
Trump attorney Alina Habba praised the ruling in a statement: “We are extremely pleased with the Second Circuit’s decision today in reversing and vacating the District Court’s finding in this matter. This decision will protect the ability of all future Presidents to effectively govern without hindrance. We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals will find that our client was acting within the scope of his employment when properly repudiating Ms. Carroll’s allegations.”
Carroll sued Trump in 2019 alleging he defamed her when he denied her allegations that Trump raped her in a New York department store dressing room in the mid 1990s.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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