A federal judge dismissed former President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a Monday ruling.
Trump countersued Carroll in late June after a grand jury found him liable of defamation and sexual assault against the writer in a separate civil case in May. Carroll publicly claimed Trump raped her in a dressing room at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990’s.
Trump alleged Carroll defamed him by telling CNN she thought in her head, “Oh, yes, he did — oh, yes, he did,” after the jury found Trump not liable of her rape allegation. The judge ruled her remarks were “substantially true” since the jury decided Trump “digitally” penetrated her and didn’t use his genitalia, which New York law requires to prosecute with a rape charge, according to CNBC.
“In fact, both acts constitute ‘rape’ in common parlance, its definition in some dictionaries, in some federal and state criminal statutes, and elsewhere,” Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote.
ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR TRUMP: U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan today dismissed Trump’s defamation counterclaim against E. Jean Carroll, handing him a fresh legal defeat.
Trump sued Carroll after the former Elle magazine columnist said “oh yes, he did; oh yes, he did” when asked on… pic.twitter.com/SmPtVdMBku
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) August 7, 2023
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the legal team is “pleased” with the judge’s decision, the outlet noted. (RELATED: ‘Is That The Desperation We’re At?’: Dana Bash And Alina Habba Get Into Tense Exchange About Sexual Harassment Verdict)
“That means that the January 15th jury trial will be limited to a narrow set of issues and shouldn’t take very long to complete,” Roberta Kaplan said. “E. Jean Carroll looks forward to obtaining additional compensatory and punitive damages based on the original defamatory statements Donald Trump made in 2019.”
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba stated they “strongly disagree with the flawed decision and will be filing an appeal shortly,” the outlet noted.
Judge Kaplan ruled in a separate order Monday Carroll’s lawyers can give Manhattan District Attorney’s office a videotape and transcript of Trump’s deposition against Carroll after the District Attorney’s office issued a subpoena requesting the material, CNBC reported. The deposition could be used in Alvin Bragg’s investigation of Trump allegedly falsifying business records in relation to allegedly paying hush money to former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s legal team asked a New York state judge to block the subpoena, the outlet reported.
The judge also rejected Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina’s request for a mistrial in the Carroll defamation case in May.