When Donald Trump denied the rape allegation against him, his words were so "malicious" and "humiliating" that they couldn't possibly be construed as being part of his job.
In a June 2019, essay for New York Magazine, she accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid 1990's.
When Trump denied that she was his type, and that she made the allegation up to sell her book, she sued him for defamation.
The case is currently in limbo after the Department of Justice tried to get Trump removed from the lawsuit, arguing that he is covered by a federal law that protects federal employees from being personally sued.
The case was moved to the DC Court of Appeals after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals split in favor of Trump. The case will be heard by the DC Court of Appeals in January and both sides have submitted their arguments.
The Westfall Act protects comments made to the press by a president, and Trump's lawyers argue that his comments about Carroll are protected.
The law is more nuanced according to previous court rulings.
The fact that an employee is on duty is not the end of the inquiry according to the court. It's just one of many factors in a scope-of-employment analysis.
Trump's statements to the press are evidence that he was acting out of a personal motivation and not in his role as president, according to the lawyers.
Trump attacked her three times over a four day period. She was too ugly to be raped. He accused her of lying. His lawyers wrote in the brief that he was scheming.
After she revealed that he had raped her, Trump tried to destroy her. There is no reason to believe that Trump had an obligation to make these statements or that he did so to advance the federal government.
A ruling in favor of Trump would go against constitutional values and set a dangerous precedent for the presidency, according to the lawyers. That is not the law and this court shouldn't make it so.
An attorney for Trump didn't reply to Insider's request on Friday.
Even if the DC Appeals Court rules in Trump's favor, he'll still have a hard time running away from the accusations made against him.
The second lawsuit against Trump was filed on Thanksgiving.
The statute of limitations on the alleged sexual assault has expired, but a New York law that went into effect on Thanksgiving allows the case to go forward.
Trump denied the rape allegation in statements on Truth social in October. He won't be able to claim the Westfall Act since he made those comments while in office.
The two cases should be tried together. The first defamation case is scheduled to be heard in April.
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