Discover the latest development in the ongoing legal dispute between Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll, as Trump files a counterclaim for defamation after a jury’s decision in favor of Carroll.
Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, has taken legal action against E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine columnist, accusing her of defamation. This comes in the wake of a recent jury ruling that found Trump guilty of sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll.
In a counterclaim submitted on Tuesday evening, Trump asserts that Carroll defamed him during her appearance on CNN following the jury’s decision, where she received a $5 million compensation. When questioned about the verdict that confirmed Trump’s sexual abuse but dismissed the rape allegation, Carroll confidently stated, “Oh, yes he did.”
In response to Trump’s counterclaim, Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, issued a statement affirming, “Contrary to both logic and fact, Donald Trump once again claims that he was exonerated by a jury who found him guilty of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.”
Kaplan further commented, “Trump’s filing is nothing more than his latest attempt to evade accountability for the jury’s verdict, which has already concluded that he defamed E. Jean Carroll. However, whether he accepts it or not, that accountability is imminent.”
This counterclaim serves as the most recent development in a protracted legal battle between Trump and Carroll, spanning several years. Carroll initially filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in 2019 after he denied her allegation of rape, which she claimed occurred in the mid-1990s in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman. Trump responded by stating that he did not know Carroll and that she was not his type.
Last year, Carroll filed another lawsuit against Trump under a New York law that allowed a one-year window for civil lawsuits for survivors of sexual assault, regardless of when the incidents took place. Trump has requested a new trial in response.
The defamation lawsuit from 2019 is scheduled to proceed to trial next year, although numerous legal matters remain unresolved. In this particular case, Carroll is seeking damages exceeding $10 million, primarily due to Trump’s repetition of defamatory statements through social media and at a CNN town hall following the jury’s decision.
The Origins of the Legal Dispute
The Defamation Lawsuit: Carroll’s Initial Accusations
In 2019, E. Jean Carroll, a renowned writer and advice columnist, filed a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump. The lawsuit stemmed from Carroll’s allegation that Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s. According to Carroll, the incident occurred in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, a high-end department store in New York City.
Trump’s Denial and Remark
Upon hearing Carroll’s accusation, Trump vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that he did not even know Carroll and asserting that she was not his type. These statements laid the foundation for the subsequent legal battle.
Carroll’s Persistence and the New York Law
Building on her initial defamation lawsuit, Carroll filed another legal action against Trump in 2020. Under a New York law, which introduced a one-year window for civil lawsuits related to sexual assault, regardless of the time elapsed since the incident, Carroll sought justice once again.
Trump’s Quest for a New Trial
As the legal process unfolded, Trump’s legal team requested a new trial in response to the jury’s decision. While the details of this request remain undisclosed, it further complicated the ongoing legal dispute.
The Impending Trial and Outstanding Legal Issues
Despite the recent counterclaim by Trump, the 2019 defamation lawsuit filed by Carroll is set to go to trial in the upcoming.
