Appeals court declines to rule if Trump was acting in official capacity when he allegedly defamed E. Jean Carroll
An appeals court has declined to answer whether then-President Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he allegedly defamed E. Jean Carroll in 2019. The D.C. Court of Appeals has declined to answer whether then-President Donald Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he allegedly defamed writer E Jean Carroll when denying her rape claim. Carroll sued Trump for defamation over statements he made in 2019 when he denied her claim that he raped her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. MORE: E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Trump indefinitely delayed Trump, who also denies defaming her, has argued that the Justice Department should be substituted as the defendant in the case because, at the time of his allegedly defamatory statements, he was acting in his official capacity as an employee of the federal government. Such a ruling would make the case go away, as the federal government cannot be sued for defamation. On Thursd...