The US Justice Department has reversed its position on Donald Trump’s immunity in a defamation lawsuit, stating that he can be held personally liable for his comments about a woman who accused him of rape. This is a departure from their previous stance that Trump was protected as president when he made the remarks.
In a letter filed with a federal district court judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, the department clarified that Trump was not acting in his capacity as president when he spoke out against writer E Jean Carroll’s claims of defamation and rape.
“There is no longer sufficient basis to conclude that the former president was motivated by ‘more than an insignificant’ desire to serve the United States government,” the department stated.
This letter was submitted in relation to Carroll’s 2020 defamation lawsuit.
Previously, the department had agreed with Trump’s lawyers that he was protected by the Westfall Act, which grants federal employees absolute immunity from lawsuits arising from conduct within the scope of their employment.
Link from www.aljazeera.com