Justice Department wants to step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll appeal [View all]

Source: CBS News

April 17, 2025 / 1:08 PM EDT


The Department of Justice wants to stand in for President Trump in his ongoing appeal of a defamation case that could cost him tens of millions of dollars. Lawyers for the taxpayer-funded agency and Mr. Trump's personal attorneys said in a filing on April 11 that the Justice Department believes the federal Westfall Act shields Mr. Trump in the case, which has pitted him against the writer E. Jean Carroll.

A federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in January 2024, after concluding that Mr. Trump made defamatory statements when denying that he sexually abused Carroll. That award came less than a year after a separate federal jury concluded Trump was liable for sexual abuse, and instructed him to pay her $5 million. Mr. Trump has denied all of Carroll's allegations and appealed both cases.

The Justice Department asserts that Mr. Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he made the allegedly defamatory statements about Carroll in 2019, and therefore the court is required to substitute the United States for Mr. Trump in the case. Under the Westfall Act, federal employees are entitled to absolute immunity from personal lawsuits for conduct occurring within the scope of their employment.

Legal scholar James Pfander said Mr. Trump still needs to show that his actions, publicly denying Carroll's claims, were within the scope of the presidency. "As a legal issue ultimately for the courts, the [Justice Department's] certification alone does not decide the question," said Pfander, a Northwestern School of Law professor.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-e-jean-carroll-defamation-case-justice-department/