Donald Trump Sues E. Jean Carroll For Defamation After Liable Assault Verdict
Donald Trump has a lot going on legally. Multiple misdemeanor counts of falsifying business records stemming from payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election made Trump became the first president indicted on criminal charges. Those were almost immediately followed by federal charges surrounding his post-presidency mishandling of classified documents.
Don't forget, in the midst of all of that, there was also his civil trial in New York City, which came after a lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll who testified that Trump had raped her in the mid-90s. After two weeks of hearing arguments and testimony and about three hours of deliberation, a jury determined that Trump was liable for sexual abuse in the Carroll lawsuit as well as defamation.
He's been ordered to pay the writer $5 million in damages. Trump has consistently maintained his innocence, and now he's firing back, again, at Carroll through the courts. The controversial former president is countersuing Carroll for defamation. This comes after a post-trial media appearance during which she repeated the allegations against Trump, per The New York Times.
Trump maintains his innocence and claims that Carroll has defamed him
In an appearance on CNN the day after a civil court decided that Donald Trump had sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, she discussed how it felt to have the jury find in her favor in the case. The former Elle advice columnist asserted that "this verdict is for all women." Carroll also shared her reaction when the jury didn't find Trump guilty of rape: "Well, I just immediately [said] in my own head, 'Oh, yes, he did. Oh yes, he did.'"
Funnily enough, that seemingly throwaway sentiment is a large part of what the latest Trump lawsuit hinges on. The former president's counterclaim against Carroll argues that she has continued to make what are described as false statements about Trump having raped her and that he "has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result."
In response, Carroll's lawyer said, "Trump's filing is thus nothing more than his latest effort to delay accountability," as reported by The New York Times. After the initial trial, Carroll expanded her other, ongoing defamation lawsuit against Trump, which was originally filed in 2019. The expansion includes comments that he made after the verdict, including calling her a liar and a "whack job" during his infamous CNN Town Hall, per Reuters.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).