Former President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll following a jury’s verdict that he sexually abused her and defamed her. Trump’s counter claim, filed on Tuesday night, alleges that Carroll defamed him during her appearance on CNN after the jury awarded her $5 million in damages. In the interview, Carroll confirmed that Trump sexually abused her but stated that he did not rape her as she had alleged.
In response to Trump’s counter claim, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan issued a statement, arguing that Trump’s argument goes against both logic and fact. She emphasized that Trump’s filing is merely an attempt to delay accountability for his defamation, which the jury has already determined. Kaplan asserted that accountability for Trump’s actions will be forthcoming.
This counter claim marks the latest development in the ongoing legal battle between Trump and Carroll. Carroll initially sued Trump for defamation in 2019 after he denied her accusation of rape in the mid-1990s. Trump claimed not to know Carroll and stated that she was not his type.
Last year, Carroll filed another lawsuit under a New York law that allowed a one-year window for civil lawsuits by survivors of sexual assault, regardless of when the incidents occurred. Trump has sought a new trial in response.
The defamation lawsuit from 2019 is scheduled to proceed to trial next year, although there are still unresolved legal matters. Carroll is seeking over $10 million in damages in that case, partly due to Trump’s repetition of statements that the jury found defamatory even after the verdict, both on social media and during a CNN town hall.
