Nearly a year after author E. Jean Carroll sued President Donald Trump for defamation, Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan urged a federal judge to reject Trump’s bid to substitute the United States as the defendant in the case, arguing Trump wasn’t acting within the scope of his employment when he made public comments after Carroll claimed he sexually assaulted her.

Kaplan, founder and partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink, wrote in a brief filed Monday that her argument should not be controversial.