U.S. Can’t Replace Trump as Defendant in Rape-Accuser’s Suit (2)

A U.S. bid to have a defamation suit against President Donald Trump tossed out was rejected by a judge, who ruled that the government couldn’t substitute itself as the defendant in a case brought by a New York advice columnist.

The decision stems from a lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll, who went public last year with her claim that the president raped her two decades ago in a department store dressing room. She sued after Trump called her a politically motivated liar.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in Manhattan on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s argument that Trump’s ...