Oh, no—not this lady again. Do we remember Jean Carroll? She’s the woman who alleged that Donald Trump raped her at a department store in New York City back in the 1990s. I don’t need to rehash the details. She did that all on her own, but Trump has denied the allegation. Called her a liar, which led to her suing him for defamation. The case went under the radar for numerous reasons, I’ll get into that in a second. But it’s back in the news because the Department of Justice is stepping in to defend Trump (via NYT):
The Justice Department said on Monday that President Trump should not be sued personally for having denied a rape allegation because he made the statement while acting in his official capacity as president.
Lawyers for the government made the argument as they defended Attorney General William P. Barr’s decision to intervene in a defamation lawsuit filed in a New York court against President Trump by E. Jean Carroll, the writer.
Ms. Carroll has said that Mr. Trump raped her in a department store two decades ago and then falsely denied the attack while in office, branding her a liar and harming her reputation.
But Justice Department lawyers say that even though the allegation concerns an incident that occurred decades before Mr. Trump became president, his denial was still an official act because he “addressed matters relating to his fitness for office as part of an official White House response to press inquiries.”
[…]
On Sept. 8, the Justice Department took the highly unusual step of seeking to intervene on Mr. Trump’s behalf even though the lawsuit concerns a claim of defamation stemming from an event that allegedly occurred in the 1990s, long before Mr. Trump became president.
[…]
That maneuver, if approved by a judge, would have the practical effect of dismissing Ms. Carroll’s lawsuit because government employees enjoy immunity from most defamation claims.
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So, it’s a kill shot move. I mean, this woman has already gone enough to hurt her credibility. Have we not forgotten her interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper where she called rape “sexy”? Oh yeah, you bet Cooper cut to commercial. I don’t think this is a poster child for sexual assault awareness, folks. I mean the whole interview is just bizarre (via RCP):
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: So you don't feel like a victim?
E. JEAN CARROLL: I was not thrown on the ground and ravished. Which, the word "rape" carries so many sexual connotations. This was not sexual. It just, it hurt.
ANDERSON COOPER: I think most people think of rape as a violent assault. It is not sexual--
E. JEAN CARROLL: I think most people think of rape as being sexy.
ANDERSON COOPER: Let's take a short break.
E. JEAN CARROLL: Think of the fantasies.
ANDERSON COOPER: We're going to take a short break. If you could stick around we can talk more.
E. JEAN CARROLL: You're fascinating to talk to.
Given that Hunter Biden’s emails have exposed a sordid web of corruption within his family, with Joe involved, I’m shocked the media hasn’t tried to gin this up again. Then again, the rape is sexy part might be a clue as to why the media is more focused of just suffocating this Hunter story than weaponizing another unsubstantiated assault claim that was hurled against the president.
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