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On Tuesday, the U.S Justice Department moved to take responsibility for defending President Trump in a defamation lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll. She alleged that Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s. Jean Carroll filed a suit in New York state court last year. It was the time when Trump answered reporters’ questions and denied knowing her and alleged her of lying. Carroll is a columnist for Elle magazine. She wrote in a memoir that Trump had raped her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in 1995 or 1996. The Justice Department argued in an unusual five-page filing in U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York that Trump’s remarks were made in the performance of his official duties as president and government attorneys should assume Trump’s defense from his private lawyers.

The filing asked the court to designate the United States, instead of President Trump, as the defendant in Carroll’s defamation suit and to move the case from state to federal court. The US federal officials are generally immune from charges of defamation. It would effectively bring Carroll’s case to an end if the DOJ’s filing is successful. Point to be noted that Carroll immediately condemned the legal maneuver and wrote in a series of tweets, “TRUMP HURLS BILL BARR AT ME”. She addressed the president and said” I’m ready! So is every woman who has ever been silenced”! The attorney of Carroll, Robbie Kaplan said in a statement that the DOJ’s argument is shocking. She said, “It offends me as a lawyer, and offends me even more as a citizen”.

TRUMP HURLS BILL BARR AT ME.

Just when @realDonaldTrump is required to produce documents and DNA in discovery, he sics the DOJ on us.

THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED!!

My attorney, @kaplanrobbie, and I are happy to TAKE THEM ALL ON! @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/rAmKnqpo5s

— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) September 8, 2020

Carroll’s lawsuit had reached a critical stage in state court. A judge rejected the president’s request to temporarily halt the proceedings last month. She has asked the judge to order Trump to provide a DNA sample as part of pretrial discovery. It is noteworthy that President Trump may also be required to sit for a deposition if the case proceeds. On Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr said that the involvement of the Justice Department was a routine. Barr said the standard practice is for a federal employee being sued to alert the Justice Department so that it can defend her or him, which the White House has done in this case. The law and court precedents are clear that presidents enjoy the legal shield in question as a federal worker in this situation.