Topline
Former President Donald Trump Tuesday sued E. Jean Carroll for defamation, accusing her of making “false statements” alleging he raped her, weeks after a jury in a civil trial found him liable of sexually abusing the New York-based author and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during the New Hampshire … [+] Federation of Republican Women’s Lilac Luncheon in Concord, New Hampshire.
Key Facts
In a filing with the Southern District of New York federal court, Trump accuses Carroll of damaging his reputation during an appearance on CNN on May 10, when she accused him of raping her.
The filing points to the jury’s verdict in the civil suit, which concluded that Trump had sexually abused and defamed the author, but unanimously rejected the claim that he had raped her.
Trump’s lawyers allege that during the CNN appearance, when Carroll was asked specifically about the jury’s verdict, which ruled that the former president did not rape her, she responded, “Oh, yes, he did—oh, yes, he did.”
The filing accuses Carroll of acting with “actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack” Trump’s reputation.
Trump’s attorneys urge the court to overturn the damages awarded to Carroll in the civil case, have her retract her statements, and award “compensatory and punitive damages” to the former president.
Big Number
$5 million. That is the total amount in damages the jury awarded Carroll last month in her civil suit against the former president. Trump was ordered to pay the author $2 million in damages for sexual abuse and around $3 million for defamation.
News Peg
Last week, a New York federal judge granted Trump’s legal team permission to deposit $5.55 million while they appealed the verdict in the civil case. The former president’s legal team filed an appeal against the verdict shortly after it was issued. The team then sought a fresh trial in a case arguing that the damages granted to Carroll were “grossly excessive” after the jury found the incident between the two of them was sexual abuse and not rape. Speaking at a CNN town hall a day after the verdict, Trump called the trial “a rigged deal,” called Carroll a “whack job” and repeated his earlier claims that he had never met her. After Trump’s comments, Carroll was allowed to modify an earlier, still-pending suit against the former president to seek more damages from him for making those comments.
Key Background
In 2019, Carroll filed her first suit against Trump, accusing him of defaming her, after he dismissed her rape allegation and claimed he didn’t know who she was. The author filed a second lawsuit in 2022, accusing Trump of battery and defamation, whose verdict was issued last month. The verdict was reached after a two-week trial by a nine-person jury comprising six men and three women. The identities of the jurors have been kept private—to which Trump’s attorneys were opposed. After the verdict, Carroll appeared on NBC News and said she was “overwhelmed with joy and happiness and delight for the women in this country.”
Further Reading
Trump Deposits $5.5 Million In New York Court To Pay E. Jean Carroll As He Awaits Appeal Response (Forbes)
Trump Sexually Abused E. Jean Carroll And Owes $5 Million In Damages, Jury Finds (Forbes)
