对...的诉讼唐纳德·特朗普杂志专栏作家让·卡罗尔(E. Jean Carroll)在乔·拜登(Joe Biden)总统的司法部(Department of Justice)追随前政府的脚步，寻求取代特朗普在此案中的被告地位。
卡罗尔声称特朗普在上世纪90年代在伯格多夫·古德曼百货公司的更衣室强奸了她，他对此予以否认。她2019年11月起诉他诽谤之后，他称她是骗子，否认见过她，并声称她当时编造了出售新书的声明。
在周一提交的一份简报中，现任DOJ要求曼哈顿的美国第二巡回上诉法院推翻一名地区法院法官的裁决，该法官裁定特朗普关于卡罗尔及其强奸指控的陈述不是他的官方职责的一部分。
10月份的裁决称，特朗普不能使用保护联邦雇员免受某些诉讼的法律，因为他的言论是在他的官方工作之外发表的。
DOJ表示，它不支持特朗普关于卡罗尔的声明，称其“粗鲁”和“不尊重”，但辩称特朗普在“他的办公室范围内”否认了这一指控。
华盛顿邮报通过盖蒂图像，文件
E.2019年6月21日，让·卡罗尔在纽约州的家中。
该文件称:“当选的公职人员可以——而且往往必须——处理关于个人不当行为的指控，这些指控引发了人们对他们是否适合担任公职的怀疑。”
DOJ周一辩称，保护联邦雇员免受个人损害赔偿的《联邦侵权索赔法》和允许雇员作为被告免于诉讼并由美国政府取代的《韦斯特法尔法》适用于特朗普的案件。
代理助理司法部长布莱恩·博因顿在一份新的法庭文件中写道:“就《威斯特伐尔法案》而言，属于雇佣范围内的行为不需要授权或接受。”。“根据《威斯特伐尔法案》，即使涉及‘严重犯罪’或‘违反美国国家安全’的行为也可能属于雇佣范围。”
麦克·史登曾在1996年至2004年间担任众议院高级顾问，处理过涉及国会议员的《威斯特伐尔法案》，他说DOJ很可能会赢得这场辩论。
“我倾向于认为DOJ可能会赢。如果他们没有这样做，就会引发一系列针对总统、副总统和其他高级内阁官员的潜在诉讼...斯特恩告诉美国广播公司新闻，未来的政府可能会发生什么。“这与特朗普和想要保护他没有关系。”
斯特恩说，如果DOJ取代特朗普，此案将被驳回，因为诽谤是一种故意侵权行为，不属于《威斯特伐尔法案》的范围。
周一的文件似乎表明，拜登政府下的DOJ打算继续与特朗普政府下的立场相同——尽管拜登对他的前任提出了严厉的批评。在一次总统辩论中，拜登指责特朗普在卡罗尔案中对待DOJ就像对待他自己的律师事务所一样。
乔纳森·德雷克/路透社
前总统唐纳德·特朗普站在北卡罗莱纳州g站的舞台上
卡罗尔的首席律师罗伯塔·卡普兰抨击这一举动是“法律上和道德上的错误”。
“很可怕的是，唐纳德·特朗普多年前在纽约市的一家百货商店强奸了让·卡罗尔。卡普兰告诉美国广播公司新闻，但真正令人震惊的是，目前的司法部允许唐纳德·特朗普在这件事上撒谎，从而剥夺了我们的客户在法庭上的一天。
“DOJ的立场不仅在法律上是错误的，在道德上也是错误的，因为它将给予联邦官员自由的许可，通过公开虐待任何有勇气站出来的女性来掩盖私人的性行为不端。像唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在这里所说的那样，称一个被你性侵的女人为“骗子”、“荡妇”或“不是我喜欢的类型”，这不是美国总统的官方行为。我们仍然有信心卡普兰法官的决定将得到第二巡回法庭的确认，”她补充说。
美国广播公司新闻已经联系到白宫请其置评。
卡罗尔的律师此前曾辩称，允许司法部介入诽谤案将有效地让总统凌驾于法律之上。
卡罗尔在特朗普发表的一篇文章中对特朗普提出了指控纽约杂志2019年6月。这篇文章是她当时即将出版的书的摘录。
针对这一指控，特朗普当时说，“第一，她不是我喜欢的类型。第二，它从未发生过，”在白宫接受采访时小山。
在当时的另一份声明中，特朗普说他从未见过她，并补充说，“她正试图出售一本新书——这应该表明了她的动机。应该在小说区卖。那些编造虚假的攻击故事，试图为自己获得宣传，或出售一本书，或执行一项政治议程的人是可耻的。”
卡罗尔在诉讼中辩称，特朗普否认她的故事，并声称她从政治对手那里拿了钱来编造故事，从而损害了她的声誉和职业生涯——她说她失去了在《Elle》杂志的工作。
Biden's Justice Department follows Trump's lead in E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit
A lawsuit againstDonald Trumpby magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll is dragging on as President Joe Biden's Department of Justice follows in the footsteps of the prior administration by seeking to substitute for Trump as the defendant in the case.
Carroll alleged that Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s, which he has denied. Shesued him in November 2019 for defamationafter he called her a liar, denied meeting her and alleged she made up the claim to sell her new book at the time.
In a brief filed Monday, the current DOJ asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn a district court judge who ruled that Trump’s statements about Carroll and her rape claimwere not made as part of his official duties.
That October ruling said Trump couldn’t use a law protecting federal employees from certain lawsuits because his comments were made outside of his official work.
The DOJ said it did not endorse Trump’s statements about Carroll, calling them “crude” and “disrespectful,” but argued that Trump acted “within the scope of his office” in denying the allegation.
“Elected public officials can -- and often must -- address allegations regarding personal wrongdoing that inspire doubt about their suitability for office,” the filing stated.
The DOJ argued Monday that the Federal Tort Claims Act, a law that shields federal employees from individual damages claims, and the Westfall Act, which allows employees to be removed from lawsuits as defendants and replaced by the U.S. government, apply to Trump in this case.
"Conduct that falls within the scope of employment for purposes of the Westfall Act thus need not be authorized or acceptable," acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton wrote in a new court filing."Under the Westfall Act, even conduct involving ‘serious criminality,' or which runs 'contrary to the national security of the United States' may fall within the scope of employment."
Mike Stern, who served as senior counsel to the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2004 and dealt with the Westfall Act involving members of Congress, said it’s likely the DOJ will win its argument.
“My inclination is to think that the DOJ will probably win on that. If they did not, it opens up a whole bunch of potential lawsuits against the president, the vice president and other high cabinet officials ... There’s a can of worms they’re opening up,” Stern told ABC News about what could happen with future administrations. “It has nothing to do with Trump and wanting to protect him.”
The case would be dismissed if the DOJ were to replace Trump, because defamation is an intentional tort that isn't covered by the Westfall Act, Stern said.
The Monday filing appears to demonstrate that the DOJ under the Biden administration intends to continue the same stance as it did under Trump -- despite Biden's harsh criticism of his predecessor. At one presidential debate, Biden accused Trump of treating the DOJ like his "own law firm" in the Carroll case.
Carroll’s lawyer lead Roberta Kaplan slammed the move as “legally and morally wrong.”
“It is horrific that Donald Trump raped E. Jean Carroll in a New York City department store many years ago. But it is truly shocking that the current Department of Justice would allow Donald Trump to get away with lying about it, thereby depriving our client of her day in court,” Kaplan told ABC News.
“The DOJ’s position is not only legally wrong, it is morally wrong since it would give federal officials free license to cover up private sexual misconduct by publicly brutalizing any woman who has the courage to come forward. Calling a woman you sexually assaulted a ‘liar,’ a ‘slut’ or ‘not my type,’ as Donald Trump did here, isnotthe official act of an American president. We remain confident that Judge Kaplan’s decision will be affirmed by the Second Circuit," she added.
ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
Carroll’s lawyers have previously argued that allowing the Justice Department to insert itself into the defamation case would effectively make presidents above the law.
Carroll made her allegation against Trump in an article published byNew York Magazinein June 2019. The article was an excerpt from her then-upcoming book.
In response to the allegation, Trump said at the time, “No. 1, she’s not my type. No. 2, it never happened,” during an interview at the White House withThe Hill.
In another statement at the time, Trump said he never met her, adding, "She is trying to sell a new book -- that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section. Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda."
In her lawsuit, Carroll argued Trump damaged her reputation and career -- she said she lost her job at Elle magazine -- by denying her story and claiming she took money from political opponents to fabricate it.
