Trump Held Liable In Defamation Case By Writer E. Jean Carroll — Jury To Focus Only On Determining Damages

On Wednesday, a federal judge declared former U.S. President Donald Trump accountable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

What Happened: Judge Lewis Kaplan found Trump liable for defamation. Trump had refuted Carroll’s rape allegations in 2019. The forthcoming civil trial, set for January 15, 2024, will solely focus on determining Trump’s payable damages, stated the judge, reported Reuters.

In May, a jury mandated Trump to compensate Carroll $5 million for sexual assault and separate defamation. Kaplan noted that the verdict and undisputed facts confirmed that Trump’s 2019 statements were expressed with “actual malice”.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, aims to obtain an additional $10 million for Trump’s denial of her rape claims, which he contended were false and intended to increase her memoir sales.

Despite his appeal against the May verdict and Kaplan’s denial to dismiss the current suit, Trump is contending with a range of other charges, including four separate federal and state criminal indictments. Yet, he remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney (unrelated to the judge), is looking forward to the January trial. In August, Judge Kaplan deemed Trump’s appeal against the decision to proceed with the second case as “frivolous”, potentially leading to Trump owing damages and costs to Carroll if the appeals court agreed.

Why It Matters: This lawsuit follows a chain of legal challenges faced by Trump. In May, the former president was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a lawsuit brought by Carroll, as reported by a Benzinga article.

Subsequently, in June, Carroll was granted approval to pursue a separate $10 million defamation case against Trump.

Trump’s legal team had argued that the jury's verdict was excessive, considering the charge was sexual abuse, which they claimed could be as limited as the "groping" of a victim's breasts. However, Judge Kaplan rejected this argument, clarifying that the jury's finding of sexual abuse implies that Trump forcibly digitally penetrated Carroll, which aligns with a more common definition of rape.

In a significant legal development reported by Benzinga, the U.S. Department of Justice reversed its earlier stance on Trump’s immunity in the defamation lawsuit, stating that it no longer believes Trump was acting within the scope of his office when he denied Carroll’s rape allegations.

Despite these developments, Trump challenged the judge's ruling on his defamation claim against Carroll in August, as detailed in a Benzinga article. This sequence of legal proceedings underlines the ongoing legal battles for the former president.

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