{"id":2327576,"date":"2024-08-20T13:55:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T17:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-promises-to-cover-trumps-costs-over-2020-protest-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-20T13:57:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T17:57:15","slug":"doj-promises-to-cover-trumps-costs-over-2020-protest-lawsuit-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-promises-to-cover-trumps-costs-over-2020-protest-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ promises to cover Trump\u2019s costs over 2020 protest lawsuit &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-promises-to-cover-trumps-costs-over-2020-protest-lawsuit-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2327576&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Department of Justice \u200c(DOJ)\u200d announced it will cover former President Donald Trump&#8217;s legal costs \u2062if \u200che is found liable\u2064 for \u2064violating the rights of\u2064 protesters during their forcible\u200c removal from Lafayette Square in June 2020. This decision was detailed in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-wife-asks-court-to-bring-warnock-in-for-questioning-in-child-custody-battle\/\" title=\"Ex-Wife Asks Court To Bring Warnock in for Questioning in Child Custody Battle\">notice filed<\/a> in federal court in Washington, D.C., where DOJ lawyers argued\u2063 that Trump was acting within the scope of his presidential duties during the incident, which has led to a civil lawsuit.\u2063 The DOJ\u200b also requested the dismissal of the claims against Trump, emphasizing that his actions were part of his official role. This case is one of several stemming from the events following the death of George \u200bFloyd and raises questions about Trump&#8217;s\u2063 legal accountability while in office.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DOJ promises to cover Trump&rsquo;s costs over 2020 protest lawsuit<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1734599\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Justice Department<\/a> on Monday agreed the federal government will cover costs if former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> is found liable for violating protesters&rsquo; rights during the forcible removal of protesters from a park near the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> in June 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In a notice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/760811442\/Show-Temp-pl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>filed<\/a> Monday in federal court in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Washington, D.C.\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, DOJ attorneys argued that Trump is entitled to government support because the claims are connected to his actions as president. James Touhey Jr., head of the DOJ&rsquo;s Torts Branch, wrote that Trump was &ldquo;acting within the scope&rdquo; of his federal duties during the incident, which led to the civil case.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John&rsquo;s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Square from the White House Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The DOJ also included a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/760812422\/Show-Temp-pl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>motion<\/a> to dismiss the claims against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>This case is one of several arising from the clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square during nationwide demonstrations following George Floyd&rsquo;s death shortly after entering the custody of Minneapolis police in 2020. Once the group of protesters was broken up, Trump and other officials posed for photos outside of St. John&rsquo;s Episcopal Church, where the former president held up a Bible.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ&rsquo;s response offers the courts another chance to evaluate Trump&rsquo;s actions while in office and determine if he can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-no-more-free-passes-sen-rubio-to-introduce-legislation-that-would-halt-big-techs-censorship-of-americans\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: \u2018No More Free Passes\u2019: Sen. Rubio To Introduce Legislation That Would Halt Big Tech\u2019s Censorship Of Americans\">held legally responsible<\/a>. It comes as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> recently ruled on July 1 that presidents have broad immunity for actions deemed part of their official duties.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Biden administration, the DOJ has backtracked on previous protections the DOJ afforded to Trump. In 2020, then-Attorney General Bill Barr faced criticism for taking over Trump&rsquo;s defense in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-faces-criticism-for-defending-president-trump\/\" title=\"DOJ faces criticism for defending President Trump\">defamation case brought<\/a> by writer E. Jean Carroll. Although Attorney General Merrick Garland initially supported this stance after Biden took office, the DOJ later reversed its position.<\/p>\n<p>This latest move by the DOJ comes more than four years after the Lafayette Square incident, as the related litigation has progressed slowly.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The incident was marred by critics who accused Trump of clearing the protesters in order to stage a photo-op outside the church. In 2021, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1893318\/lafayette-park-was-not-cleared-for-trump-photo-op-watchdog-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>report<\/a> from the Interior Department&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-intelligence-community-shift-from-external-to-internal-threats-has-critics-worried\/\" title=\"Report: Intelligence Community shift from external to internal \u2018threats\u2019 has critics worried\">inspector general found<\/a> U.S. Park Police did not clear the park for Trump and already had plans to clear the park before they knew about the then<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-tacitly-admit-biden-harris-border-policy-is-a-total-failure\/\" title=\"Media Tacitly Admit Biden-Harris Border Policy Is A Total Failure\">-president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s intentions.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> contacted an attorney for the plaintiffs in the suit.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1734599\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1734599\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Justice Department announced on Monday that the federal government will pay for former President Donald Trump&#8217;s expenses if he is deemed responsible for infringing on protesters&#8217; rights during their forceful removal from a park close to the White House in June 2020. In a filing made in federal court in Washington, D.C., DOJ lawyers contended that Trump deserves government assistance because the allegations relate to his presidential duties. James Touhey Jr., who leads the DOJ\u2019s Torts Branch, stated that Trump was &#8220;acting within the scope&#8221; of his official responsibilities during this incident, which has led to a civil lawsuit. <\/p>\n<p>This case is one of several stemming from the clearing of protesters at Lafayette Square amid nationwide protests following George Floyd&#8217;s death while in police custody in 2020. After dispersing the crowd, Trump and other officials took photos outside St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church, where he held up a Bible. The DOJ&#8217;s response provides an opportunity for courts to assess Trump&#8217;s conduct while in office and decide whether he can be held legally accountable. This comes after a Supreme Court ruling on July 1 affirming that presidents enjoy significant immunity for actions considered part of their official roles.<\/p>\n<p>Under President Biden&#8217;s administration, the DOJ has reversed some previous protections extended to Trump by former Attorney General Bill Barr regarding his defense in a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. Although Attorney General Merrick Garland initially supported Barr&#8217;s approach after Biden took office, this position was later changed.<\/p>\n<p>This recent action by the DOJ occurs more than four years after the Lafayette Square event as related legal proceedings have progressed slowly. Critics have accused Trump of clearing protesters merely to stage a photo opportunity outside the church; however, an Interior Department inspector general report from 2021 indicated that U.S. Park Police had already planned to clear the area before being aware of Trump&#8217;s intentions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2327577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/trump-bible-2020-1024x591.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38690,7076,3634],"class_list":["post-2327576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2020-protest","tag-doj","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/trump-bible-2020-1024x591.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2327576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2327577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}