DOJ Seeks to Defend Trump in Rape Accuser’s Defamation Lawsuit

DOJ Seeks to Defend Trump in Rape Accuser’s Defamation Lawsuit
E. Jean Carroll talks to reporters outside a courthouse in New York on March 4, 2020. Seth Wenig, File/AP Photo
|Updated:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday asked to take over President Donald Trump’s defense in a defamation lawsuit filed by rape accuser and columnist E. Jean Carroll.

“The United States respectfully requests that the court substitute the United States for President Trump as defendant,” DOJ attorneys stated in a new court filing notifying a New York State court that it wants to replace Trump’s private lawyers, and move the case into federal court.