Former U.S. President Donald Trump faced another legal setback as a federal judge dismissed his defamation counterclaim against writer E. Jean Carroll
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, who determined that Carroll’s statements on CNN, made after winning a $5 million jury verdict against Trump for defamation and sexual abuse, were substantially true.
The judge concluded that Trump failed to demonstrate that Carroll had made these statements with actual malice.
Alina Habba, a lawyer representing Trump, expressed disagreement with the ruling and announced plans to file an appeal soon.
In response to a separate defamation lawsuit by Carroll seeking at least $10 million, Trump, 77, had filed the counterclaim.
A trial for this case is scheduled for January 15, 2024.
Trump is considered a front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
In addition to his legal battles, Trump faces criminal charges in three separate indictments.
These charges include allegations related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his involvement in the events leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s lawsuit against Carroll was prompted by her assertion that he had raped her.
Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine, had made this claim in response to a jury’s verdict that Trump had not raped her.
Trump also objected to Carroll’s account of telling his lawyer that “he did it and you know it” shortly after the verdict.
Judge Kaplan had previously found compelling evidence that Trump had forcefully penetrated Carroll’s vagina with his fingers, causing immediate pain and lasting emotional harm.
The judge reiterated this finding, stating that the substantial truth of Carroll’s accusations was established against Trump.
Kaplan also rejected some of Trump’s defence arguments, including his claim of “absolute presidential immunity” and his assertion that Carroll was ineligible for punitive damages.
Roberta Kaplan, who represents Carroll and is unrelated to the judge, expressed satisfaction with the decision. She noted that the January trial would likely be concluded swiftly.
Both lawsuits were triggered by Trump’s denials of allegations that he forcibly raped Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Carroll’s legal action stems from Trump’s comments in 2019, where he denied knowing her and disparaged her credibility to boost sales of her memoir.
The $5 million jury verdict originated from similar denials made on social media in 2022, in which Trump labelled the incident a “hoax” and a “lie.”
Carroll modified her lawsuit after Trump referred to her as a “whack job” in a CNN town hall following the verdict.
