Washington

Donald Trump might be staring at an uphill legal battle after the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday reversed its earlier position in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. 

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The Justice Department said it will not argue that Trump's derogatory statements regarding Carroll in 2019 were made in an official capacity as the president. Up until now, both under Trump and President Joe Biden's tenure, the department had been steadfast that Trump was acting in official capacity when he called Carroll a liar and denied her rape accusations. 

However, in the court documents filed on Tuesday, the department said new evidence had surfaced since Trump left office, including the recent civil trial, in which the Republican leader was forced to pay $5 million in damages by the Manhattan grand jury for sexually assaulting Carroll.

WATCH | Donald Trump sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll, US jury rules

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The reversal leaves Trump exposed to further damages who will now have to turn to his own legal team rather than one from the government to bail him out. When Carroll first sued Trump, William P. Barr, the then attorney general, intervened under a law that substitutes the government as the defendant when a federal official is sued for official acts, leading to automatic dismissal of the case. 

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Contrasting statements from both sides

Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan said they welcomed the decision taken by the DoJ.  

“We are grateful that the Department of Justice has reconsidered its position. We have always believed that Donald Trump made his defamatory statements about our client in June 2019 out of personal animus, ill will and spite, and not as president of the United States," she said. 

"Now that one of the last obstacles has been removed, we look forward to trial in E Jean Carroll’s original case in January 2024.”

Meanwhile, Trump's side said the Joe Biden administration was "politically weaponising the justice system" against him. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump dismissed the DoJ's move as “a partisan sham”.

Also read | 'This verdict is for all women': E. Jean Carroll after jury holds Trump guilty of sexually abusing her

The setback to the Republican leader comes a month after a federal court in New York set the date for the defamation trial against him. Carroll is seeking $10 million in damages this time and the trial will be held on 15 January 2024. 

The timing is critical as 2024 is when the US goes to presidential polls and Trump's election campaign might be in full swing by then. 

Previously, Carroll claimed that Trump had raped her at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York, in the spring of 1996. Although the jury reached a unanimous decision regarding the defamation and sexual abuse, it did not agree with Carroll’s allegation that the former president raped her. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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