US Department of Justice attorneys have sought to take over from Donald Trump’s private lawyers in a defamation lawsuit involving a woman who has accused the President of raping her in the 1990s. The department is also seeking to have the case heard in a Federal Court. If successful, this could mean US taxpayers would foot the legal fees for Mr Trump, as department attorneys are civil servants. He is being sued for defamation by former Elle columnist E Jean Carroll, who in 2019 alleged the-then celebrity real estate mogul raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Ms Carroll said Mr Trump has lied about attacking her, and has smeared her integrity by concocting other lies to explain why she would make up the rape accusation. Mr Trump has denied the allegations and and has denied ever knowing Ms Carroll. During the 2016 presidential campaign, more than a dozen women accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct in earlier years. Mr Trump has also denied those allegations and claimed the women were lying.
via abc.net.au: US President Donald Trump is being sued over rape allegations he denies. US taxpayers could soon foot his bills.