Ex-President Donald Trump is seeking a new trial in the civil lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accuses Trump of sexual abuse and defamation. In the previous trial, a Manhattan jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, holding Trump accountable for the charges.
The defense team for Trump argues the $2 million compensation for sexual abuse is unreasonable, asserting that the reported conduct did not result in a diagnosed mental injury, and Carroll was not confirmed to have been raped. They also disputed the $2.7 million defamation award as speculative. Carroll’s lawyer has dismissed these assertions as unsubstantiated.
Carroll’s 2022 lawsuit accuses Trump of assaulting her sexually in the mid-1990s and defaming her by denying the incident. Trump has branded Carroll’s accusations as fraudulent. The trial included testimonies from two of Carroll’s friends, corroborating that Carroll had confided in them about the assault. Additionally, two other women who alleged similar assaults by Trump also testified.
Trump’s legal team critiqued Carroll’s narrative as improbable and claimed she failed to substantiate her claims for damages. In 2019, Carroll initially lodged a separate lawsuit solely for defamation, which encountered postponements due to uncertainties about the legal viability of suing a serving president.
However, following a New York law change permitting sexual assault victims to sue despite the expiration of the statute of limitations, Carroll filed a second lawsuit in 2022 for both defamation and battery.
After the verdict, Carroll aimed to amend her first lawsuit to claim further damages due to Trump’s comments on CNN. Trump’s lawyers rebuffed this as an attempt for a “double recovery” and argued that the jury’s awards were disproportionately high compared to similar cases. They pleaded with the judge to decrease the damages if a retrial wasn’t approved.
Trump, who has appealed the verdict and is campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, cannot evade the repercussions of his actions, asserts Carroll’s lawyer, emphasizing the jury’s unanimous decision on Trump’s liability. The decision on Carroll’s request to amend her lawsuit is still pending with the judge.
