(CNN) The US Justice Department, in an extraordinary move on Tuesday, asked to take over the defense of President Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, a woman who has accused Trump of sexual assault. While the alleged sexual assault occurred long before Trump became President, the Justice Department argued that it must take over because Trump's comments spurring the defamation lawsuit came while he was in office. The move -- defending Trump at taxpayer expense -- comes amid ongoing criticism that the Justice Department has acted in the President's personal interests. Carroll, an advice columnist who for years wrote for Elle Magazine, alleged in a lawsuit filed last fall that Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at luxury Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. Trump's denials came while he was acting in his official duties as President, the Justice Department said in court papers Tuesday.

Source: CNN September 09, 2020 00:01 UTC