From a story on nbcnews.com by Dareh Gregorian and Adam Reiss headlined “Justice Department reverses course on defending Trump in E. Jean Carroll case”:

The Justice Department has abandoned plans to defend Donald Trump in a lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll, saying in a court filing that it no longer believes he was acting within the scope of his presidential duties in 2019 when he allegedly defamed her while denying her rape accusation.

The “Department has determined that there is no longer a sufficient basis to conclude that the former President was motivated by ‘more than an insignificant’ desire to serve the United States Government” when he disparaged Carroll in remarks to reporters four years ago.