The Washington Post - USA (2020-10-20)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A

OKLAHOMA

Excavation resumes

for massacre victims

Excavation work began
Monday at two locations in a
Tulsa cemetery for victims of a
race massacre nearly 100 years
ago that left hundreds dead and
decimated an area that was once
a cultural and economic hub for
Black people.
Researchers took a core soil
sample at one location to give
them a better idea of what lies
beneath the soil, said Oklahoma
State Archaeologist Kary
Stackelbeck. “That will help
narrow the focus for the heavier
machinery,” Stackelbeck added.
Both areas of interest are in
Oaklawn Cemetery in north
Tulsa, where a search for
remains of victims ended
without success in July, and near
the Greenwood District where
the massacre happened.
Stackelbeck noted that
researchers have a “high level of
confidence” some remains will
be found in an area known as the
Original 18, where old funeral
home records indicate that up to
18 Black people who were
massacre victims were buried.
The latest search is expected

to continue for the rest of the

week, Stackelbeck said.

The violence took place on

May 31 and June 1 in 1921, when

a White mob attacked Tulsa’s

Black Wall Street, killing an

estimated 300 people and

wounding 800 more while

robbing and burning businesses,

homes and churches.

— Associated Press

UTAH

Woman rescued after

vanishing in Zion

A California woman who was

missing for about two weeks in

Zion National Park in Utah has

been found and has left the park

with her family, who had feared

the worst, authorities said.

Holly Suzanne Courtier, 38, of

Los Angeles, was found Sunday

by search-and-rescue crews after

park rangers received a tip that

she had been seen in the park,

park officials said in a news

release. They did not say where

she was found, or discuss her

condition or what had happened.

Crews began searching for

Courtier after she didn’t show up

for her scheduled pickup in the

park by a private shuttle on

Oct. 6, authorities said.

Her sister Jillian Courtier-

Oliver told ABC’s “Good Morning

America” that her sister is

recovering. The park is known

for its towering red rock cliffs

that has several hikes that take

people along narrow trails with

steep drops nearby.

— Associated Press

ALASKA

Large earthquake

prompts tsunami fears

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake

prompted a tsunami warning

Monday for a nearly thousand-

mile stretch of Alaska’s southern

coast, with waves over two feet at

the nearest community as the

threat subsided.

The quake was centered near

Sand Point, a city of about

900 people off the Alaska

Peninsula where wave levels late

Monday topped two feet,

according to the National

Tsunami Warning Center. The

warning was downgraded to an

advisory just over two hours

after the quake.

The earthquake struck in the

North Pacific Ocean just before 1

p.m. local time. It was centered

about 67 miles southeast of Sand

Point, according to the Alaska

Earthquake Center. The

community is about 800 miles

southwest of Anchorage. The

quake was recorded at a depth of

19 miles.

The quake was felt widely in

communities along the southern

coast, including Sand Point,

Chignik, Unalaska and the Kenai

Peninsula, according to the

Alaska Earthquake Center,

which said a magnitude

5.2 aftershock was reported

11 minutes later, centered

approximately in the same area.

— Associated Press

Jeff Bridges says he has

lymphoma: Jeff Bridges is being

treated for lymphoma and his

prognosis is good, the 70-year-

old actor announced in a

statement on social media late

Monday. He expressed gratitude

to his family, friends and medical

team and promised to keep fans

posted on his recovery.

— From news services

DIGEST

LOVELAND FIRE RESCUE AUTHORITY/REUTERS

The Cameron Peak Fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado history, burns i n Drake on Saturday. The

blaze has torched more than 200,000 acres in a state that is experiencing an extreme drought.

Politics & the Nation

BY DEVLIN BARRETT

Justice Department lawyers ar-
gue they can and should defend
President Trump in a defamation
lawsuit brought by a woman who
claims he sexually assaulted her
decades ago, according to a gov-
ernment filing Monday in advance
of a court hearing on the issue set
for this week.
The case arose out of a memoir
by E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle
magazine columnist who accused
Trump of raping her in a dressing
room at the Bergdorf Goodman
department store in Manhattan
during the mid-1990s. He denied
it, calling her a liar and “not my
type,” after w hich s he s ued him f or
defamation.
Last month, the Justice Depart-
ment sought to intervene in the
case, arguing that the Federal Tort
Claims Act means the govern-
ment, not the president personal-
ly, should be the defendant in the
defamation case. The FTCA gives
elected officials wide latitude to
avoid lawsuits over their public
statements, and if the Justice De-
partment wins that argument in
court, Carroll’s suit would prob-
ably be dismissed.
Carroll’s lawyers have argued
that the Justice D epartment’s legal
argument is “inconceivable” be-

cause no American, not even the

president, has a job description

that “includes slandering women

who they sexually assaulted.”

The Justice D epartment’s inter-

vention was viewed by critics of

the decision as an attempt by At-

torney General William P. Barr to

protect the president. Barr has

defended his department’s in-

volvement, saying the case law is

clear and any outrage is a byprod-

uct of t he country’s “bizarre p oliti-

cal environment.”

In the 22-page filing Monday,

Justice Department lawyers said

Carroll’s argument misses the

point because past court cases

have concluded that any public

statements that reflect on the

character a nd trustworthiness of a

public official fall under the law.

Because Carroll’s accusation

calls i nto question “the President’s

fitness for office,” the Justice De-

partment lawyers argue, “a re-

sponse was necessary for the Pres-

ident to effectively govern.”

Noting that one member of

Congress said Carroll’s allegation

showed Trump was unfit to be

president, t he Justice D epartment

filing argues that under such cir-

cumstances, Trump’s response

was within his official duties and

“directly relevant to his role as

President and leader of the Execu-

tive Branch — and more generally

is a necessary part of a Federal

elected official’s job.”

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kap-

lan is scheduled to hold a hearing

in the case Wednesday in federal

court in New York.

[email protected]

J ustice Dept.: Trump denial of rape claim part of his job

EVA DEITCH FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, has a ccused President Trump of raping her in the dressing room of a department

store in Manhattan during the mid-1990s. He called her a liar and “not my type”; she then sued him for defamation.

Filing comes ahead of

court hearing in writer’s

defamation suit

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