The Justice Department is attempting to substitute itself in place of former President Trump as the defendant in a lawsuit brought after law enforcement pushed protesters out from Lafayette Square near the White House following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
If successful, the move would enable Trump to avoid liability in the suit or having to pay any eventual damages.
In court filings Monday, the Biden-era Justice Department certified Trump was acting in the scope of his employment as president and filed a notice substituting itself as the defendant.
“On the basis of the information now available with respect to the claims set forth therein, I find that Donald J. Trump was acting within the scope of federal office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the plaintiffs’ claims arise,” James Touhey, the Justice Department’s director of its civil torts branch, wrote in the notice.
The protesters who brought the lawsuit can attempt to object and keep Trump on the hook. The judge overruled their objection, however, when the Justice Department previously substituted itself for former Attorney General William Barr and other defendants in the case.
Following Floyd’s murder, which inspired racial justice demonstrations across the country, protesters gathered in Lafayette Square, located across the street from the White House.
Law enforcement on June 1, 2020, suddenly cleared it using smoke canisters and pepper balls ahead of a photo op by Trump, who crossed the park to make a statement while holding a Bible in front of a nearby church.
The lawsuit alleges Trump “ordered law enforcement officers” to “forcibly drive protesters” from the park, asserting he is liable for battery, assault and other claims. The suit was originally filed in 2020 but has since been amended and remains tied up in pretrial proceedings. It seeks an unspecified amount of damages.
By certifying Trump was acting within the scope of his presidency, the Justice Department’s step would effectively make the former president immune from the suit. In addition Monday, the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The scope-of-employment issue was previously a mainstay in advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s litigation against the former president, which stemmed from allegations that he sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s.
The Justice Department in both the Trump and Biden administrations sought to substitute itself for Trump in one of Carroll’s lawsuits, tying up the case for months, only for the department to eventually reverse its position and leave the former president on the hook.
Carroll ultimately went to trial in both cases, where juries awarded her a combined $88 million in damages for her sexual abuse and defamation claims. Trump is appealing and continues to deny Carroll’s allegation.