According to Reuters, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland may defend former President Donald Trump in court against lawsuits accusing him of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Constitutional scholars and lawyers in the Jan. 6 cases brought against Trump say the Biden DOJ opened the door to that possibility when they defended Trump in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019. Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the dressing room of a New York Department store decades earlier, then deny having ever met her.
The Biden DOJ argued in that case that presidents have sweeping immunity for their comments while in office – and the right to a defense by government lawyers.
According to BuzzFeed, the Biden Justice Department wrote in their brief that Trump’s comments in response to Carroll were “crude and disrespectful,” “unwarranted,” “distasteful,” and “unnecessary and inappropriate,” but they argued that he was acting within the scope of his official duties as president and therefore his comments accusing Carroll of lying were protected as part of his presidential duties.
Attorneys fear the Justice Department, may use the same legal rationale to defend Donald Trump in cases related to Jan. 6, including one from Rep. Eric Swalwell that accuse Trump of inciting the riot and one filed by two U.S. Capitol Police officers seeking to hold Trump liable for injuries they suffered defending the building during the attack.
“The Justice Department appears to put no limits on immunity for speech by a sitting president on any matter considered of public concern,” Attorney Philip Andonian, who is pursuing the case against Trump on behalf of Rep. Swalwell said.
