Trump using the DOJ for a personal lawsuit against him

This is obviously wrong. The alleged conduct occurred before he became president and has nothing to do with his presidency. Taxpayers should not pay for his defense.

Sorry Bill Barr, DOJ‘s defense of Trump is indefensible.
Absence of SDNY signature suggests they agree. My thoughts about DOJ‘s intervention in defamation suit in ⁦@NYMag⁩. https://t.co/wCShFzQhgW
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) September 11, 2020

As you assess this week's damage, remember that just Tuesday Bill Barr turned "E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald Trump" into "E. Jean Carroll vs. the United States of America" & thus made the whole of our former liberal democracy coextensive w/Donald Trump. Me:https://t.co/PUVTr7iu3J
— Virginia Heffernan (@page88) September 11, 2020

The Department of Justice is Trump’s corrupt law firm. Voters need to resist becoming numb to forms of corruption that threaten to undermine equal justice and democratic rule.
My column https://t.co/skYxgxozhA
— EJ Dionne (@EJDionne) September 10, 2020

This is a risky strategy for Barr & Trump. They have to have known it would be widely condemned & seen for the fraud it is, which means they are really afraid of the strength of @ejeancarroll's case. https://t.co/fnmxSF4yJ1
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 9, 2020

This is absurd and reflects the absolute legal and moral bankruptcy of this Attorney General. https://t.co/x00B0bFgiF
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) September 9, 2020

DOJ gives legal representation to fed’l employees sued for actions w/in the scope of their employment. So, we’re now footing the bill for Trump’s defense, based on the ludicrous claim he was acting as POTUS when he called ⁦⁦@ejeancarroll⁩ a liar. https://t.co/f4IvAg2KJw
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 8, 2020

NYT just reported that one reason the Trump campaign has burned through so much $$ is that “outsize legal bills were treated as campaign costs.”

Now Barr’s using the DOJ to pick up Trump’s “outsized legal bills” and ease that burden. It’s so corrupt. https://t.co/4pJh3rloSw
— Joshua Holland 🔥 (@JoshuaHol) September 9, 2020

I wish I could say that this cannot be, but I have learned that the debasement of the Dept of Justice appears to be without bounds. This is really bad, folks. https://t.co/ztN7na4VCf
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) September 9, 2020

I don’t have anything to add to this utter debasement of the Department of Justice we’re seeing with Barr throwing himself of Trump defend his private misconduct.

Other than “I told you so that conservative lawyers were always full of shit and have no objective legal principles”
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 9, 2020

Just to be clear, DOJ's argument that Trump was acting "within the scope of his employment" when he defamed E. Jean Carroll is not an effort to *take over* defense of the suit; it's an effort to have the suit *dismissed*—because the government itself can't be sued for defamation.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) September 9, 2020

Trump wants our tax dollars to defend him as a rapist. Is that why you went to work today? https://t.co/ui7DVPVPuj
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) September 9, 2020

The DOJ is not Trump’s private law firm. Our tax dollars should not pay for this. https://t.co/zTuGDoPafu
— Midwin Charles (@MidwinCharles) September 8, 2020

Justice Dept. Intervenes to Help Trump in E. Jean Carroll Rape Lawsuit https://t.co/v6eAYXRusZ
— Wajahat "Wears a Mask Because of a Pandemic" Ali (@WajahatAli) September 8, 2020

So now Barr has decided (1) that Trump somehow was acting *in his official capacity as president* when he called E. Jean Carroll a liar for accusing him of sexual assault, and (2) taxpayers should foot the bill for Trump’s defense.

Another utter debasement of DOJ by Barr.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) September 8, 2020

JUST IN: The Justice Department, in an extraordinary move, wants to take over President Trump's defense in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of sexual assault https://t.co/rTownef61G
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 9, 2020

DOJ is now arguing that when Trump said "she's not my type" he was … acting in his official capacity & within the scope of his employment as President.

This is truly grotesque–they're saying that misogyny is the President's official duties/within the scope of his job. https://t.co/LOjKDCgXDa
— Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) September 8, 2020

DOJ is allowed—indeed, it is *required*—to take over tort suits against federal officials for torts committed within the scope of their employment.

But how is claiming that Carroll lied about a decades-old rape allegation within the scope of Trump’s employment *as President*?!? https://t.co/Kc6ZPfy0SU
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) September 8, 2020

Is this just basically Trump trying to stick taxpayers with his legal bills? https://t.co/RjHc4Q84Am
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) September 8, 2020

This has nothing to do with his time as president. He should pay for this with his own money – not ours!
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) September 8, 2020

Barr is politicizing the Durham investigation

Trump wants to use it as a weapon for his reelection. The whole thing is a phony attempt to discredit the very valid Russia investigation. Never forget that Manafort gave polling data to the Russians. Now one of Durham’s top prosecutors has resigned.

The sudden resignation of John Durham’s top deputy Nora Dannehy is a strong sign that Bill Barr has turned Durham into a tool of the corrupt Trump project of smearing Biden and clearing Trump in October. These crooks aren’t even subtle.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 11, 2020

Today's resignation by a top prosecutor on Durham's team is yet more evidence of what I wrote here last week for @cnn:

Barr is doing everything he can to deliver Trump an October surprise.https://t.co/I2DiwAnRIP
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) September 11, 2020

The strange part here is that by all accounts Durham — at least from members of the CT bar who know and have worked for him— is very respected. So why allow himself to be used this way? Why not resign? He has to know that his role in this legal kabuki dance will taint him forever https://t.co/PXtEwuDqh9
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 12, 2020

This is doubly odd because we HAVE a report from an official whose job is to write reports: The Inspector General, who found serious issues with a FISA warrant obtained in the investigation, but that the investigation itself was properly predicated. https://t.co/qNGpup2Ho3
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) September 12, 2020

Why is Durham putting out a public report in the first place?

Federal prosecutors either charge people or remain silent. They don't write reports about people who they lack the evidence to criminally charge. https://t.co/SAN8pCdhjn
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) September 12, 2020

John Durham’s deputy resigns. My thoughts: https://t.co/9F3nnzq5GA
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) September 11, 2020

"…she had expressed concerns in recent weeks about pressure from Mr. Barr to deliver results ahead of the presidential election in November." https://t.co/KnIX3FMLNF
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 11, 2020

It is exceedingly rare for DOJ prosecutors to resign in protest, and this is the 2nd one this year to do so bc of improper political influence.

This tells you all that you need to know about the bastardization of the Durham investigation by Bill Barr. https://t.co/ajJDnVXdim
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) September 11, 2020

Nora Dannehy, a top prosecutor working for US Attorney John Durham, who is conducting the probe of the Russia investigation for Attorney General William Barr, has resigned https://t.co/gESXDgwWz4
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 11, 2020

Barr’s public statements about the Durham investigation have been highly problematic.

His frequent statements and predictions about the Durham probe suggest his intense interest in the case and his improper motive for launching and pushing this investigation. https://t.co/eSqvluZrc5
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) September 11, 2020

If there is any living human that thinks the "Durham Probe" is anything other than a pre-election phony political hit job, you must have slept through the last 4 years. https://t.co/e4EnLasrrK
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) September 11, 2020

This is very significant. https://t.co/GZmu4vd4oW
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 11, 2020

<thread>

(1/2) Strong indicator Durham has been corrupted

“Either [Durham] doesn’t know what he’s doing—replicating an error that DOJ IG had to fix in its Carter Page investigation—or he’s deliberately misrepresenting”

⁦important by @emptywheel⁩👇 https://t.co/EiDf7qQGtS
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) August 15, 2020

Update on the terrible QAnon cult

The Republican Party keeps flirting with QAnon conspiracy theories because they don't want to rock the boat with their supporters. But at what cost? This is scary stuff. https://t.co/ehBqbb6OwF
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) September 11, 2020

AP Exclusive: Pence to attend event hosted by QAnon backers https://t.co/BhD2FDTwW1
— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) September 9, 2020

Vice President Pence expected to attend fundraiser hosted by QAnon supporters https://t.co/VpClToKvcr pic.twitter.com/vpPod6NjYJ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 9, 2020

The FBI labels QAnon as a "domestic terrorist threat."

The Vice President tweets out a picture of support from someone clearly in QAnon gear.

What happened to law and order? https://t.co/MXmuncXPB6
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) September 7, 2020

911 dispatchers in Oregon are slammed with calls about QAnon-backed false claims about the wildfires there https://t.co/10AehYjnZV
— CNN (@CNN) September 11, 2020

Joe Biden criticizes President Trump for not publicly rejecting QAnon conspiracy theories.

"Look at how it makes us look around the world. It's mortifying. It's embarrassing, and it's dangerous."https://t.co/SlSVlZFm9B
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2020

Self-proclaimed QAnon founder "Baby Q" arrested with a plastic penis called The Whizzinator. https://t.co/3KXueorUkZ
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 11, 2020

Followers of pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon believe Hollywood, Democratic elites, (and members of the media), take a psychedelic drug called Adrenochrome harvested from the fear of children. https://t.co/AqmEct05YP
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) September 10, 2020

Opinion | Steven Hassan: President Trump's QAnon followers are a dangerous cult. How to save someone who's been brainwashed. https://t.co/95MnWj2Foa – @NBCNewsTHINK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 11, 2020

Former State Dept. official and genocide scholar: QAnon is a Nazi Cult, Rebranded https://t.co/RYYOEhZ4Di
— Garance Franke-Ruta (@thegarance) September 11, 2020

Mothers for QAnon https://t.co/gw3hHtfZ7K
— Karli 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) September 11, 2020

Q is a domestic terror organization.

I assume @SenTomCotton will call on these Republicans to return the money. https://t.co/8lXCkg9L94
— Janet Johnson (@JJohnsonLaw) September 15, 2020

1/ Thread on QAnon hijacking Save the/our Children Facebook. I identifed 61 groups that have branded themselves as anti-child trafficking pages or organization; in reality they are predominantly QAnon pages sharing fall cabal, out of shadows, & pedowood videos, as well as Qdrops
— Marc-André Argentino (@_MAArgentino) September 16, 2020

Trump administration shafts 9/11 first responders

EXCLUSIVE | The Trump administration has secretly siphoned nearly $4 million away from a program that tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses. https://t.co/FwDPsNL9WK
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 10, 2020

Trump loses a census and redistricting related case

Great job by the court

BREAKING: Federal judges rule that President Trump’s order to exclude people who are in the U.S. illegally when redrawing congressional districts violates the law. https://t.co/8iM9VyVjdj
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2020

JUST IN:

3-judge federal court in NY rules that Trump's recent census memo excluding undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment count is UNLAWFUL.

A major win for a lawful 2020 Census! And yet another big loss in court for Trump.
— Joshua A. Geltzer (@jgeltzer) September 10, 2020

#BREAKING: In a major victory, the courts have ruled President Trump cannot exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment in the #2020Census.

No one ceases to be a person because they lack documentation, period. https://t.co/fUNsfM4e63
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 10, 2020

A federal court rejected President Trump’s order to exclude unauthorized immigrants from census figures, which are used to allot House seats. https://t.co/K1ab4FLSCU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 10, 2020

Republican lawyer admits there is no widespread voter fraud

Scathing column from GOP super-lawyer Ben Ginsberg on his "painful conclusions" re: Trump and voting rhetoric. The party "must deal with the basic truth that four decades of dedicated investigation have produced only isolated incidents of election fraud."https://t.co/4Cp1UZsob4
— Peter Wallsten (@peterwallsten) September 9, 2020

The most Republican of Republican lawyers just called out Trump's lies on voter fraud https://t.co/LbpfhYzTa8 pic.twitter.com/EquX3AlMx0
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) September 9, 2020

Am I the only one that remembers that Ben Ginsberg was a key player in delegitimizing any effort to get a fair count in Florida in 2000? And that he was a particularly vicious partisan during the Clinton administration?
Sorry.
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) September 9, 2020

Update on coronavirus and schools 9/8/20

West Virginia University has suspended in-person classes amid the pandemic.

"We've seen the number of cases spike. The number of … students who've tested positive has gone up. And it's gone up at a quicker rate than we anticipated," Dean Corey Farris says of the decision. pic.twitter.com/uLxv4fh2xM
— CNN (@CNN) September 8, 2020

16 of the largest school districts in the U.S. resumed class today, and 14 of those were strictly online. @EricaRHill reports pic.twitter.com/ejHDBvJD64
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 8, 2020

How to reopen in-person schools safely | Opinion https://t.co/AI6ODAqcSH pic.twitter.com/VMmz8zVek3
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) September 8, 2020

Sturgis was a superspreader event

"Our people are happy. We've had big events" — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem isn't sweating a study showing that the Sturgis motorcycle rally, which everyone knew was a terrible idea, ended up being a superspreader event pic.twitter.com/MzBFP64C26
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 9, 2020

Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota in August linked to more than 250,000 coronavirus cases, study finds https://t.co/85TdbJ6Pf1
— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) September 8, 2020

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was "superspreading event" that cost public health $12.2 billion: analysis https://t.co/Xnu4bvvIhJ pic.twitter.com/krMuy3ZAtC
— The Hill (@thehill) September 8, 2020

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Linked to More Than 260,000 Coronavirus Cases, Economists Estimate https://t.co/a7djOFHmQJ
— #TuckFrump (@realTuckFrumper) September 8, 2020

New analysis on Covid spread triggered by Sturgis event and implicated in the current epidemic in South Dakota. The estimates in this paper, if confirmed, would place Sturgis as the largest studied super spreading event in U.S. https://t.co/cNiTTs3Ilz
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 8, 2020

We estimate that over 250,000 of the reported cases between August 2 and September 2 are due to the Sturgis Rally. Roughly 19 percent of the national cases during this timeframe. https://t.co/6tCCV6aXYf
— Andrew Friedson (@FriedsonAndrew) September 6, 2020

2 weeks after the Sturgis motorcycle rally, South Dakota has the highest positivity rate (20.9%) in the country.
— Henry J. Kraven (@HenryJKraven) September 7, 2020

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) hits reports that the Sturgis bike rally led to ~260,000 COVID cases: "They have deemed me as the governor that made all the wrong decisions by letting my people have freedom … Listen, our people are happy, we've had big events."https://t.co/eEDMmTaw6n pic.twitter.com/bqSHC9wFZo
— The Recount (@therecount) September 9, 2020

South Dakota Gov. Noem disputes report that Sturgis motorcycle rally may have caused as many as 250,000 COVID-19 infections.

The state reported a 126% increase in new coronavirus cases over the last 2 weeks, with one death linked to the rally. https://t.co/g2x1OKpJ6W
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 9, 2020

Sturgis herd immunity virus experiment fails – no distancing, no masks – 266,000 infections – vrooom, vroom – to ER – https://t.co/QIWBJvUR6M
— jonflan@aol.com (@JonFlan) September 9, 2020

DOJ politicizes evidence in a potential criminal case

The DOJ is Trump’s personal legal team.

DOJ policy forbids publicly describing evidence in a criminal case, even after charges are filed, let alone before, because it could improperly influence a jury. This is an improper use of law enforcement authority for a political purpose. https://t.co/N4A46rfQ9D
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) September 8, 2020

Vigilantes have shown up at Black Lives Matters protests

These folks with guns scare me. What are they going to do if Trump loses the election?

Since the spring, militias have shown up at Black Lives Matter protests at least 55 times, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. https://t.co/fHd5aBsbcg
— MS NOW (@MSNOWNews) September 7, 2020

Veteran interviewed by @KatyTurNBC about potential violence during the November elections:

“Would you take up arms?”

“If that’s what it comes to.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely I would.” pic.twitter.com/Zw9rPBwEEi
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 8, 2020

Last week, following heavy press coverage of vigilante violence at protests, several analyses relied in part on my research to suggest Biden was likely to take a hit. A compelling new piece from @ThePlumLineGS shows that hasn’t happened. Why might that be?https://t.co/a2K52OKL7P pic.twitter.com/rB767xBB8w
— Omar Wasow | @owasow@bsky.social (@owasow) September 5, 2020