Biden’s DOJ Decides It Was Insane to Claim Trump Was Doing His Job as POTUS When He Called E. Jean Carroll a Liar and Said She Wasn’t His “Type”

One of the most absurd aspects of the E. Jean Carroll–Donald Trump case—which is comprised of two separate lawsuits, one of which resulted in Trump being ordered to pay the writer $5 million in May, while the other is ongoing—is the long-running claim by the Department of Justice that Trump should be immune from repercussions because he was acting in his official capacity as president of the United States allegedly* defamed Carroll. That argument—that, again, when Trump said Carroll was “totally lying” about him sexually assaulting her and that she wasn’t his “type,” he was doing so as leader of the free world and therefore should receive immunity—was first put forth by the DOJ under Trump and then, surprisingly, maintained by the Biden administration. But on Tuesday, the latter apparently had a change of heart.

In a letter sent to attorneys for Trump and Carroll, lawyers for the DOJ wrote that they were reversing course on the position, clearing the way for the civil suit to go to trial in January. The department, they wrote, “has determined that it lacks adequate evidence” to conclude that Trump was acting within the scope of his job as president “when he denied sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll and made the other statements regarding Ms. Carroll that she has challenged in this action.” The letter noted that the DOJ came to the decision in light of, among other things, a jury in May finding Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll and defaming her.

Per CNN:

Lawyers for the Justice Department wrote that after balancing and weighing the evidence “from Mr. Trump’s deposition, the jury verdict in Carroll II, and the new allegations in the Amended Complaint, the Department has determined that there is no longer a sufficient basis to conclude that the former President was motivated by ‘more than an insignificant’ desire to serve the United States Government,” lawyers for the Justice Department wrote.

“And a jury has now found that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll long before he became President. That history supports an inference that Mr. Trump was motivated by a ‘personal grievance’ stemming from events that occurred many years prior to Mr. Trump’s presidency,” the Justice Department wrote.

Shortly after Trump was found liable last spring, he went on TV and defamed Carroll some more, which led to her amending her lawsuit and asking for a minimum of $10 million in damages. Last month, Trump countersued Carroll, arguing that she defamed him. 

Trump not at all surprisingly responded to the DOJ’s decision with a rant on Truth Social in which he claimed the move is “is all part of the political Witch Hunt.” In a statement, Carroll’s attorney, Robbie Kaplan, told Vanity Fair: “We are grateful that the Department of Justice has reconsidered its position. We have always believed that Donald Trump made his defamatory statements about our client in June 2019 out of personal animus, ill will, and spite, and not as President of the United States. Now that one of the last obstacles has been removed, we look forward to trial in E Jean Carroll’s original case in January 2024.”

*Yes, he was found liable for defaming her in the lawsuit that went to trial last spring, but the other case—about the same comments—has yet to be determined.

Just so everyone’s clear…

This line of questioning does not appear to have worked out as the congressman from Florida had hoped