Justice Department wants to defend Trump in E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/08/politics/e-jean-carroll-trump-lawsuit/index.html

 The US Justice Department, in an extraordinary move on Tuesday, asked to take over the defense of President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, a woman who has accused Trump of sexual assault.

While the alleged sexual assault occurred long before Trump became President, the Justice Department argued that it must take over because Trump's comments spurring the defamation lawsuit came while he was in office. The move -- defending Trump at taxpayer expense -- comes amid ongoing criticism that the Justice Department has acted in the President's personal interests.

"Even in today's world, that argument is shocking," said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, of the Justice Department's logic.

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called the move "a wild stretch by DOJ."