WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: U.S. President Donald Trump shushes journalists before signing the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act in the Rose Garden at the White House June 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. In the midst of nationwide protests against the death of George Floyd, the U.S. Labor Department announced the unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, a surprising improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Image: Getty)
A federal appeals court panel is debating whether former President Donald Trump went beyond his presidential duties in his aggressive responses to New York writer E. Jean Carroll‘s claims that he raped her decades ago. Trump told reporters he couldn’t have raped Carroll because “she wasn’t my type.”
Carroll sued Trump in 2019 for alleging that he defamed her through several denials of her allegations. After letting the case simmer for almost a year, the Justice Department stepped in a bid to effectively shut down the litigation by taking over Trump’s defense and asserting that his answers to press questions about Carroll’s suit were part of his presidential duties. The suit is a political headache for the Biden administration and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Justice Department attorney Mark Freeman, who stressed that he was representing the U.S. in the case and not Trump individually, began his remarks to the three-judge panel by disavowing Trump’s remarks.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned noncompete agreements in a 3-2 vote. The…
A proposed bill in California would prohibit security screening company CLEAR from skipping the general…
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a challenge to a law allowing…
The Arizona House of Representatives failed to advance a repeal of the state's 160-year-old abortion…
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill restoring criminal charges in cases of hard drug possession.…
President Joe Biden's administration announced the first-ever national limits on toxic "forever chemicals" in drinking water. This…