As reported in The Daily Beast, the U.S. Department of Justice made clear on Monday that they intend to continue their defense of former president Donald Trump in the defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll. On behalf of the behalf of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the country’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, and other advocacy groups, ECBAWM previously filed an amicus brief in support of E. Jean Carroll and in opposition to the DOJ’s position that Trump is immune from suit for defamation because he was a government employee when he called Carroll a liar and said she was “not my type” after Caroll came forward to say that Trump had raped her years before he was a government employee.

The brief filed by the DOJ claims that Trump is entitled to both immunity and government-funded legal representation because he was a government employee at the time he made the statements – even though Carroll is suing Trump in his personal capacity and not in his official role as a government employee.

“It is disappointing to see this administration continue to defend Trump’s bankrupt legal position,” said ECBAWM partner Zoe Salzman, who, along with law clerk Julian S. Oppenheimer, represents the amici. “To agree with DOJ in this case is to send a chilling message to survivors of sexual assault and discourage them from holding their assailants accountable. The Second Circuit should affirm the District Court’s well-reasoned decision.”

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“Biden’s Department of Justice Is Still Taking Trump’s Side in E. Jean Carroll Case,” Jezebel