Justice Dept. push into Trump case could prompt dismissal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday defended the Justice Department’s move to intervene in a defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, even as experts were deeply skeptical of the federal government’s effort to protect the president in a seemingly private dispute.
The Justice Department’s action is “a normal application of the law. The law is clear. It is done frequently,” Barr said at an unrelated news conference in Chicago.