Months after President Biden accused former President Trump of taking advantage of government resources for his own personal benefit, Biden’s Justice Department has submitted a brief to defend former President Trump in a defamation suit.
The case revolves around comments then-President Trump made about writer E. Jean Carroll who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. Then-President Trump vehemently denied her claims saying she “is not his type.” Carroll then filed a defamation suit over Trump’s “crude and disrespectful” comments.
According to The Daily Wire:
The New York Times reports that the Biden DOJ submitted a brief acknowledging “that Mr. Trump’s remarks about Ms. Carroll were ‘crude and disrespectful,’” but defending the former president from a claim of defamation, taking up Trump’s claim that he is not subject to a suit on the issue because the remarks were made in the context of his official duties as president.
“Rather, the lawyers wrote, because they believe Trump was an employee of the government and that he acted ‘within the scope of employment,’” CNN added, “the department, rather than Trump personally, should serve as defendant in the case.”
“Elected public officials can — and often must — address allegations regarding personal wrongdoing that inspire doubt about their suitability for office,” the brief continued. “Officials do not step outside the bounds of their office simply because they are addressing questions regarding allegations about their personal lives.”
“At one of their debates, Mr. Biden accused Mr. Trump of treating the Justice Department like his “own law firm” in the suit, filed against him by the writer E. Jean Carroll. ‘What’s that all about?’ he sarcastically asked,” according to The New York Times.
House Judiciary Committee Democrats are furious over the Justice Department’s decision to defend Trump. The Committee wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland to reconsider the “misguided” decision.
.@TheJusticeDept should not spend taxpayer dollars to defend former President Trump from a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. Their decision to do so is profoundly misguided. pic.twitter.com/CkgrdvktGg
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) June 9, 2021
Fox News reports:
The House Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York, said the Justice Department should not be spending taxpayer dollars to defend Trump. The Democrats raised concerns about the Justice Department setting a new policy standard on immunity for personal conduct.
“President Trump’s disgusting comments about Ms. Carroll had nothing to do with his official responsibilities as President, and the whole world knows it,” the Democrats wrote. “Survivors of sexual assault, among other victims, deserve better.”
The White House distanced itself from the Justice Department’s decision, in keeping with Biden’s stance to not influence the Attorney General’s moves.
“This is in active litigation, and so we refer you to the Department of Justice concerning its court filings,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News this week. “The White House was not consulted by DOJ on the decision to file this brief or its contents. And while we are not going to comment on this ongoing litigation, the American people know well that President Biden and his team have utterly different standards from their predecessors for what qualify as acceptable statements.”
About eight months ago Biden made comments that Trump was using the Justice Department as his personal law firm but it seems even the Justice Department is on Trump’s side.
