Immunity for Trump in defamation case
2023.01.10 12:29
Immunity for Trump in defamation case
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – On Tuesday, an appeals court in Washington, D.C., considered whether Donald Trump should be exempt from E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit for defamation based on the former president’s 2019 denial that he raped her.
In response to a reporter’s question, Trump accused the former Elle magazine columnist of lying about the alleged encounter that took place in the middle of the 1990s. In the coming weeks, an eight-judge panel is expected to decide whether Trump was acting as president.
Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney, said that the former president had an obligation to “deal fearlessly with the American people” when answering questions from reporters or even his constituents, which gave him a lot of immunity from Carroll’s claim.
A lawyer for Carroll, Joshua Matz, responded that Trump has a “long history” of personal attacks, suggesting that his criticism of Carroll may not have anything to do with performing his duties as president.
In a 2019 excerpt from her memoir published in New York magazine, Carroll claimed that Trump raped her in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room.
Later, Trump told a reporter he didn’t know Carroll, that “she’s not my type,” and that she had made up the rape claim to sell her book.
In September of last year, a federal appeals court in Manhattan asked the Washington court to decide whether, according to District of Columbia law, Trump had spoken in his personal capacity or within the scope of his role as president, as Carroll argued.
Carroll can continue the first of her two defamation cases against Trump in federal court in Manhattan if she wins. The trial is set for April 10.
Trump’s victory would likely put an end to that lawsuit and grant presidents broad immunity from claims of defamation based on statements they make while in office.
Carroll could still file her second lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, claiming that Trump insulted her in October of last year when he denied the rape once more after he left the White House.
As Trump prepares to run for president in 2024, Carroll’s case is just one of many legal looming over his head.
The case is Trump et al. v. Carroll, D.C. Court of Appeals, No. 22-SP-0745.
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