Former President Trump Can Be Held Liable In Writer’s Defamation Lawsuit After Justice Department Reverses Course

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department has reversed its position that Donald Trump can’t be held personally liable for remarks he made about a woman who accused him of rape because he was president when he made the comments.

The department filed a letter Tuesday with the judge presiding over a lawsuit columnist E. Jean Carroll filed in Manhattan federal court in 2020 and said it no longer has “sufficient basis” to conclude that Trump in his statements about Carroll’s claims was motivated by more than an insignificant desire to serve the U.S. Lawyers for Trump did not immediately comment.