Donald Trump sues accuser for defamation over post-trial rape claim
- The ex-president filed a counterclaim accusing E. Jean Carroll of trashing his reputation by accusing him of rape during an appearance on CNN
- A jury last month found that Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in the 2024 election, was liable for sexual abuse not rape
Donald Trump is doubling down on his legal brawl with E. Jean Carroll, suing the New York author for defamation weeks after a jury held him liable for sexually abusing her.
The former president filed a counterclaim on Tuesday night accusing Carroll of trashing his reputation by publicly accusing him of rape during a May 10 appearance on CNN, despite jurors concluding a day earlier that his actions during the alleged 1996 assault hadn’t gone that far.
Trump “has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result,” according to the filing.
A jury of six men and three women last month found that Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in the 2024 presidential election, was liable for sexual abuse – and not liable for rape – before awarding Carroll US$5 million in damages.
Trump’s court filing Tuesday is a counterclaim in a separate 2019 defamation lawsuit Carroll filed against him that is set to go to trial in January. While Carroll won the first trial, Trump has interpreted the verdict as a victory, of sorts, because of the finding on rape.
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.