Well, it looks like a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump is about to collapse. It’s been a long time coming. Jean Carroll is suing the former president for defamation. It was brought while Trump was still president. Trump called her a liar, among other things, when she alleged that he raped her while shopping in New York City. Trump’s denial was an official act relating to “matters relating to his fitness for office as part of an official White House response to press inquiries,” and therefore cannot be sued in the process. The New York Times even admitted that most government employees are protected from most defamation lawsuits. What made this action different is that the Department of Justice under the Trump administration intervened, which drew some controversy. Joe Biden attacked Trump for this matter, saying the then-president was treating the Justice Department as his own law firm. Well, he pretty much reversed course. Biden’s DOJ is now going to defend Trump. They said while Trump’s words were “crude”, he was still in the right legally (via NYT):
During the presidential campaign, Joseph R. Biden Jr., then the Democratic candidate, slammed his opponent, Donald J. Trump, for a highly unusual legal move: bringing in the Justice Department to represent him in a defamation lawsuit stemming from a decades-old rape allegation.
[…]
But on Monday night, nearly eight months after Mr. Biden’s attack, his own Justice Department essentially adopted Mr. Trump’s position, arguing that he could not be sued for defamation because he had made the supposedly offending statements as part of his official duties as president.
In a brief filed with a federal appeals court in New York, the Justice Department acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s remarks about Ms. Carroll were “crude and disrespectful,” but the department also claimed that the Trump administration’s arguments were correct — a position that could lead to Ms. Carroll’s lawsuit being dismissed.
Mr. Biden has repeatedly said he wants to restore the Justice Department’s traditional independence from the White House — a stance that has been echoed by several of his top picks for the department’s leadership.
Even so, the late-night filing caught many, including Ms. Carroll’s lawyers, by surprise and marked another twist in a protracted legal battle.
By the way, in case you need a refresher, this is the woman who said that rape was “sexy.” I don’t think liberals should have a meltdown over this, but they might since Trump lives rent-free in their minds and those of the anti-Trump GOP, what few are left.
Still, it’s a bit entertaining to see the Biden administration reverse course and defend Trump on a matter that they know could get their base jacked up. It’s Trump. It’s feminism. It’s Me Too. It’s all the things that gets the white college liberals animated. I’m waiting for more liberals posting about their remorse about voting for Biden, who also isn’t going to forgive college loan debt. Only an idiot would think this would be acted upon, especially given the slim Democratic majorities in Congress. Sorry, kids—politicians lie. Lesson learned. For Ms. Carroll and her legal team, call it a day and give up. This lawsuit is over.
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