The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said it will keep trying to defend former President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit. The government in a court filing asked an appeals court to overturn a decision by a lower court blocking the DOJ from defending Trump against the suit, which was filed by E. Jean Carroll after Trump accused her of spreading a sexual assault allegation against him to promote her book. DOJ lawyers in September 2020 asked to take over Trump’s defense. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton nominee, ruled last year that Trump “is not an employee of the government within the meaning of the relevant statutes,” adding, “Even if he were such an employee, President Trump’s allegedly defamatory statements concerning Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment.” That decision was erroneous, the new filing (pdf) asserts. The Federal Tort Claims Act …

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said it will keep trying to defend former President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit. The government in a court filing asked an appeals court to overturn a decision by a lower court blocking the DOJ from defending Trump against the suit, which was filed by E. Jean Carroll after Trump accused her of spreading a sexual assault allegation against him to promote her book. DOJ lawyers in September 2020 asked to take over Trump’s defense. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton nominee, ruled last year that Trump “is not an employee of the government within the meaning of the relevant statutes,” adding, “Even if he were such an employee, President Trump’s allegedly defamatory statements concerning Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment.” That decision was erroneous, the new filing (pdf) asserts. The Federal Tort Claims Act …