I find out today in the Guardian that the everlasting E. Jean Carroll defamation case was heard on appeal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Although it’s old news that the Garland DOJ continues to hew to the Barr DOJ position, it’s still unnerving to hear the DOJ lawyers talk this talk:
The DoJ lawyer Mark Freeman told the second US circuit court of appeals on Friday he was not out to defend Trump’s “crude and offensive” comments.
“Any president facing a public accusation of this kind, with the media very interested, would feel obliged to answer questions from the public [and] the media,” Freeman said.
Or, in other words, a president must address even decades-old accusations of rape in order to continue effectively in his/her role as president without undue impediments. Now, the conclusion . . . if I remember my Logic . . . modus tollens, modus ponens, hocus pocus, ah, the conclusion: Lying about raping someone is an official presidential act. Next case, please . . .
And you thought Trump was a four seasons total narcissist when, in fact, I have the proof that his only real care is to preserve the presidency as an institution, to wit:
Lawyers for Donald Trump appeared before a federal appeals court on Friday to argue that the US government should take his place as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E Jean Carroll, who has accused him of rape.
The former president’s attorneys told the judges he was not trying to dodge personal liability in the lawsuit by Carroll, who has spoken publicly about her allegations. He just wants to keep future presidents from being burdened by legal claims, they said.
“This is not political. This is not about being a Democrat or a Republican. It is solely to protect the presidency as an institution,” attorney Alina Habba said.
Whew, and here I was thinking somehow Trump as a person was trying to avoid responsibility for allegedly defaming Ms. Carroll (by saying that she was lying when she said he sexually assaulted her). Nope. It’s the institution, my friend.
I am hoping the federal case is dismissed and the New York state case is resuscitated and eventually finds its way to trial before Trump has further opportunity to destroy the institution of the presidency.