Trump rape accuser expected in court for oral arguments

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who says President Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s is expected to be in court as lawyers argue whether Trump can substitute the United States for himself as the defendant in her defamation lawsuit. E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers will argue Wednesday that Trump cannot claim he was acting in an official capacity when making statements denying the encounter with Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room. Justice Department attorneys say Trump had to respond in June 2019 to accusations Carroll made against him in a book because the claims related to his fitness for office. The arguments are taking place in Manhattan federal court before a judge. Unlike most proceedings these days, the lawyers will be in a courtroom.