Former President Donald Trump is suing E. Jean Carroll, a writer who previously sued Trump over an alleged sexual assault, with his own claims of defamation, Bloomberg reported.
A jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting, but not raping, Carroll as the result of a defamation suit Carroll filed against Trump for dismissing her claim that he sexually assaulted and raped her in the 1990s. However, Carroll appeared on television after the trial and insisted he did rape her.
“In response to that specific inquiry, Counterclaim Defendant [Carroll] disregarded the jury’s finding that Counterclaimant did not rape her, and replied: ‘Oh yes he did, oh yes he did,'” the lawsuit said according to Bloomberg.
The verdict, handed down in May, ordered Trump to pay $5 million in damages to Carroll, who accused the former president of raping her in a New York City Department Store in the 1990s.
“The interview was on television, social media and multiple internet websites, with the intention of broadcasting and circulating these defamatory statements among a significant portion of the public,” said Trump’s lawyers said in the filing.
Former President Donald Trump on E. Jean Carroll:
“I swear… and I have never done that. And I swear I have no idea who the hell… she’s a whack job.” pic.twitter.com/lZ94oN7uTT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 11, 2023
Trump’s lawyers had a new opportunity to file a counterclaim, after Carroll – in an effort to seek additional damages – amended her complaint post-trial, changing every “rape” reference to “sexual abuse,” according to Bloomberg. She also added Trump’s comments made during a CNN Town Hall in May, where he called the allegations a lie made up by a “whack job.”
Carroll’s lawyer said in a statement that Trump’s counterclaim is “nothing more than his latest effort to delay accountability.” (RELATED: Trump Says E. Jean Carroll’s Story Is ‘Fake,’ Accuses Case Of Attempting ‘Election Interference’)
Carroll has filed lawsuits against Trump twice – once in 2019, and once in 2022. Court records revealed some of Carroll’s legal fees have been supported by Reid Hoffman, a billionaire megadonor to the Democratic Party.
An expanded lawsuit of her 2019 complaint is set to go to trial in January 2024, which seeks an additional $10 million in damages, according to NBC.
Trump’s countersuit is filed under “Carroll v. Trump, 22-cv-10016, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.”
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